The Life and Times of Bootstrap Bill
by Istani
Summary: He came to me one night and insisted on staying. He's quite persistent, that ghost of a pirate. Tell them my story, he asked me. So, here it is. AU JackBill NO slash
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Not mine so don't sue me

Prologue 

He came to me one night and insisted on staying. Mostly he sat quietly in my room, watching me writing but sometimes, when I was already at the edge of dreams, he started talking, whispering things in my ear. I shooed him away.

He wouldn't leave though. He's quite persistent, that ghost of a pirate.

_Tell them my story. _

Oh bugger, another story? I'm already too consumed with the one I'm writing now- you know that; you're watching me writing until deep in the night. I never get enough sleep, I'm insufferable in the mornings and now you come along and tell me… No, go away. I won't listen to you.

He shrugs and sits down in the middle of my room, meditating. Do you know how annoying it is to have a meditating ghost of a pirate sitting in the middle of your room?

He haunts me. In every waking hour I hear his voice, tempting and luring. In my dreams I see his face. A face that resembles that of a certain blacksmith… the same brown eyes, only his have more depth. His face is older, there are lines around his eyes that tell the story of an intense life, with all its ups and downs, all the rough edges. It's not what you'd call a pretty face but he's definitely very attractive…

… too much red wine may be another excuse why I'm doing this, but alright, let's hear the story of said pirate.

-

Falling.

The turquoise water of the Caribbean is closing over my head and I'm sinking, rapidly. The weight of a cannon lashed to me boots is dragging me down, down to the oblivion at the bottom of the sea.

I'm struggling, I'm screaming. I'm swallowing water. I don't taste the salt, nor does the lack of air kill me. My lungs are not being crushed. I'm cursed. There are certain reasons why a curse can be an advantage.

I can still hear Barbossa's laugh when I told him about the curse; he didn't believe me. He will soon stop laughing though. I didn't lie. The curse is real and he deserves being cursed forever.

Still sinking, the images of my beloved ones are passing in a swirl in front of my mind's eye. Claire, my wife I had to leave behind in England. Will, my son… I will never see him growing up. And Jack, always Jack. My captain, my friend, my little brother in heart. Now I can't hurry to your rescue like I had sworn to myself. Now I can't make it all undone… possibilities are strictly limited when your hands are tied and a cannon is attached to your boots.

I'm still sinking. The waters are deep and dark, and the silence is maddening. I would cry if I could. I want my tears to mingle with the salty waters but I can't shed no tears, and besides, the sea wouldn't care anyway. The sea takes and gives nothing back.

I can't die but I also can't escape this wet grave. I can't save Jack. Even if I'd find a way out of here it would be much too late for him; he'd long be dead before I had the chance to reach him, starved on that godforsaken spit of sand Barbossa had marooned him.

Helpless. I'm feeling so GOD DAMNED helpless. Here I am now, and I have an eternity to grieve, an eternity for self-reproaches. I hope the curse will dull my senses with the time, will make me numb, unfeeling- but no, I deserve to remember and never forget, I deserve to be tortured with the hurt look in Jack's eyes. Dark eyes that had lost their sparkle due to deceit and betrayal. Come on and haunt me till the end of time.

If only… but there's no sense clinging to the comforting sound of if only when you're at the bottom of the ocean. I had NOT been able to protect him, I had NOT been able to avoid the mutiny, I failed. I'm a failure, a miserable friend.

The darkness is impenetrable at the bottom at the sea, in Davy Jones's locker. Somehow it's a serene place, a place without sound, but the weight of water is lying as heavy on my shoulders as my guilt. I should do something- anything- instead of indulging in self-pity and feelings of guilt. _There's always a way out_, I can hear Jack saying from the far distance of my memories, _ye juss have to look at it from a different angle_. But here there's only water, endless water, and I guess even he couldn't talk himself out of this wet hell.

Suddenly a faint golden light appears from out of nowhere and I watch with fascination as it becomes brighter and brighter, just as if someone had chosen to send a ray of sunshine down to the bottom of the ocean. I lift my head in surprise, puzzled to see some dolphins approaching me. Dolphins?

The light is like a surrealistic haze now, I feel light and easy. The cannon isn't holding me down any longer; Im free of at least this burden. I'm swimming with dolphins towards the surface of the sea, I emerge, my head is breaking though the waves…

… strong hands pull me out of the sea and I'm being heaved into a small boat, a fishing trawler. I collapse on the planks, spitting out water, coughing till I almost choke. I crave air filling my lungs, fresh and salty air- perhaps that's an instinctive reaction for someone who has just been fished out of the sea, but I'm cursed. I don't need air to breath, I can't feel the soft, warm breeze caressing my skin… and yet I do. It hits me like a bolt out of the blue. I feel… overwhelming sorrow. I break down and start weeping, crying a helpless river of tears.

"Now, now, dear William, there's no need to drown my boat with your tears after I just managed to drag you out of the water." I hear a mocking voice behind me and groggily turn my head, wiping the tears from my eyes. Santiago is arching a sophisticated brow at me.

A maelstrom of thoughts is whirling through my brain and none of them is making any sense. Only one thought is clear and I fix all my mind on that.

"We've gotta save Jack before it's too late."

How long can a man survive, abandoned on a lonely island? How long has it been since Barbossa marooned him? How long have I been on the bottom of the ocean? I've lost track of the time, I've lost the bearing to reality. I'm confused, wound tight and slightly hysteric, almost dying with worry over Jack.

Overreacting as I was I forgot one very important thing. He's Captain Jack Sparrow.

But well, I just leapt ahead so let me start again, at the beginning.

TBC


	2. 1 London

Disclaimer: Still not mine. I just commandeered Bill to have my way with him…

Author's note: This is sort of a prequel to _Chalice of Doom_ and _Tales of Love and Loss_ so Bill's background is based on my own stories. For those who care- I won't neglect _Tales_ just because Bill is so persistent.

1-London

I was born in London, in the aftermath of the English Civil Wars which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. These wars led to the trial and execution of Charles I, and to the replacement of monarchy with the Commonwealth of England, later followed by a Protectorate under the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell. However, to me it didn't matter who ruled the country since it didn't change a thing for the lower classes anyway. They were poor and they would always remain poor, living in tightly packed houses, in the claustrophobic small alleys of East End's poverty stricken communities; there was no way out. I know that now but way back then, with the naïve light-heartedness of youth and a head full of idealistic ideas I thought I could make a better living if only I worked hard enough.

My family wasn't rich but it wasn't as poor as many others either- at least I can't remember having to go to bed with an empty stomach; there was always enough food to satisfy our hunger. Father worked at the docks, it was a solid position he had achieved through the years and he got properly paid on a regularly basis. Given that, he could afford to send me to school which was a rare privilege for one of my class, but father believed a good education would open more doors for me than none. And I wasn't opposed to that. I liked school and I was a good pupil, eager to learn more

The first of many decisive points in my life occurred at the age of ten, when my younger brother Robin died. He'd always been of fragile constitution and when another of the periodic epidemics that struck with disturbing regularity swept through there wasn't much we could do for him. Old Mr Cockrell, a small, withered and wrinkled guy who knew about medical herbs and healing, came to see him every day, cursing under his breath that if a proper doctor would be available, Robin would have had a chance. Alas, there was no proper doctor in East End, only the odd herb women or pharmacists like Mr Cockrell. That's why I decided to become a doctor.

Father looked at me for a long time when I told him my decision, then he nodded thoughtfully. He didn't laugh, although my plans were highly unrealistic; we'd never have the money to afford me studying at a university. But he came up with a suitable idea, suggesting an apprenticeship with Mr Cockrell while still going to school and then we'd see whether to develop my interests further.

It was a good solution, one that I could live with and ol' Mr Cockrell appreciated my help in the disorganised chaos of dried herbs, roots, glass tubes and crucibles that his hut used to be. Alas the happy years of studying ended much too soon, burnt in the ashes of medieval London.

One Sunday morning- it was the 2nd September 1666- a fire started in a bakery in Pudding Lane, sparks from the burning house fell on hay and straw in a nearby yard, and given the strong wind that blew that morning the sparks spread rapidly. Most buildings in London were half timbered and pitch covered, with thatched roofs that ignited quickly as sparks fell. In Thames street a warehouse packed with oil, spirits and tallow exploded.

The fire burnt all day and on through the next, the strong wind kept the flames advancing and there was little that could be done to stop the spread of the fire. Buildings were destroyed to create fire breaks and yet the fire raged on for almost five days, leaving four fifths of the city in ruins and thousands of people homeless.

We had packed our belongings and fled to the river like so many others, setting over to Southwark in little boats. We, that was mother, my sister Charlotte, and I. Father was missing; he had gone to work the morning the fire started and none of us had seen him since but we hoped and prayed he had made it out too.

From a safe distance on the south bank of the river Thames the raging inferno of flames London had become looked scary, nevertheless the sight kept me fixed with a certain morbid fascination.

Unlike many others who had lost their homes we belonged to the lucky few whose houses had been spared by the fire, so we thought it could have been a great deal worse for us. Yet father was still missing and no God answered our prayers he might be alive. A week after the fire one of his co-workers from the docks came knocking at our door to deliver the dreadful news that he had been killed during an explosion at the warehouses.

I don't want to dwell on all the sorrow and grief those words invoked within us, nor do I wish to remember mother's breakdown or the bitter tears she shed. I just want to tell you that life wasn't the same for any of us from that day on. I had to become a man almost over night, protecting and providing my family, there was no room left for dreams anymore. The days of my youth, of spending hours in the heavy herb-flavoured air of Mr Cockrell's hut were gone, and so was Mr Cockrell- I never found out what happened to him, if he had fallen victim to the flames too, but the place where his hut had stood was empty now and only a few burnt to charcoal timbers reminded of it.

So it happened that I started working at the docks, just like my father had done.

I didn't have many friends- it's hard to make friends when you're consumed with school and apprenticeship. Besides, I didn't really belong anywhere. The guys at the docks called me snobbish because I was better educated and they made it sound like a reproach, as if education was a disease you have to avoid like the plague. Mayhap they were just envious. The better educated middle-class lads looked down at me because I was just a working-class boy with dirty hands. There was no place for someone like me, a dreamer, that reality had caught up to. You can't escape the life you were born to.

Father had always encouraged me while mother had called my ambitions a waste of time. I would never go as far to say she was glad things had ended this way but she definitely approved of me working at the docks; she said it's solid work and it paid well. Much better for a young lad than sticking his head in books all the time. But then again she was a very undemanding person who was contented with life when each of us had enough to eat and a pair of shoes that didn't fall apart in the next winter. _Find yerself a girl, settle down and have some kids to care for ye when ye're old_, was the only advice she ever gave me but she repeated that constantly, _that's the way life's meant to be for people like us_.

The problem with finding a girl was the same as with making friends. First it had been a matter of time and now it was a matter of not belonging anywhere, but as time went by I accepted my place in life. I started to go out to the local pubs to have a pint of ale with the guys from the docks. I learned to fistfight then, because I didn't want to be called soft and snobbish although I preferred not to fight and solve problems with reason. Alas, most of the time there was no reasoning with these guys.

I met Claire at the 'Harp and Whistle', she was the daughter of the barkeeper and worked as serving maid. Unlike many other girls she was thrilled that I could read poems to her and didn't merely try to impress her with rude manners and manly strength. Actually I didn't even intend to impress her at all given that she was one of the post popular girls in our quarter and very pretty; never I thought I had a chance with her anyway. But life is strange and women are even stranger.

I married Claire in the summer of '69. It wasn't what you'd call a heart-rending love story that had finally come to a good end, though I was definitely very fond of her. I married her because she was a warm-hearted, humorous and intelligent woman, one who didn't laugh about the dreams I used to have, so I was sure she could make me happy. I also married her because she was damned pretty and I wanted her, as simple as that.

Our love grew as time went by. Claire gave me warmth, emotional stability, a home- and then she did the most amazing thing that had ever happened to me; she gave birth to my son.

The moment I held little William Turner in my arms for the very first time was priceless and absolutely incredible. I had seen many newborn babies before due to my work with Mr Cockrell, but none of them had ever appeared so wonderfully perfect to me. None of them had been my flesh and blood.

His name had been Claire's idea, decided with the assistance of my mother who had persisted upon the family tradition that every first born male Turner should carry the same name as his father and all the fathers before him. I would have chosen a different name since I didn't give a damn about tradition, but I had no say in that. However, it didn't change the love I felt for my little baby boy and watching Will growing up was probably one of the greatest experiences in my life.

Will sucking at his mother's breast, an almost divine expression of satisfaction on his face. Will giggling and squeaking with joy when I tickled his little rosy feet, still fascinated how perfect each little toe was formed. Will coming run for me, flinging his stubby little arms around my neck. Will at the age of two, sobbing against my chest because he had hurt his knee, relying on his father to blow the pain away. Ah, problems were so easy to solve in the eyes of a child, that was what fascinated me most. A heartily embrace, a kiss on the head, and the world was fine again.

Alas, it wasn't. The real world was cruel and merciless, and it held no pity for a father. In fact, it held no pity for anyone who wasn't so lucky being born to the more privileged class and the events that happened then proved at least one thing. Law didn't mean justice.

I was still working at the docks like I had done for the past six when finally the foreman took notice of my skills in reading, writing and arithmetic so he offered me a job in the office which was also much better paid than the one I'd done then, slaving away the load from the ships to the storerooms. Of course I accepted, and I was in a high mood to run and tell Claire and Will about my promotion.

It was the very same evening I saw a young lady being chased by three obtrusive looking guys so I hurried to protect her; it was a matter of honor to me. I shouldn't have done so though…


	3. 2 How to become a pirate

2. How to become a pirate

I had never thought that helping a lady in distress would change my life so completely, so drastically. Do I regret it? No. After all it had been the right thing for me to do.

She came running along the docks, frantically looking over her shoulder at the two guys that were pursuing her while another tried to block her way. She screamed when she bumped into him and he grabbed her tightly.

"Got her!" He shouted at his comrades who cheered lecherously. The look on her face was panic-stricken as she begged him to let go of her but he just stroke her hard across the face with the back of his hand.

"Hey! Let go of her! That's no way to treat a lady!" I interfered yelling and sent my fist to connect with the jaw of the man holding her. A glimpse of hope flashed up in her eyes as he stumbled backwards and she got free but the hope faded when the other two guys caught up with us. I decided to pick a fight with them to teach them manners. Although there were three of them they didn't seem to be as muscular as some of the dockers I have been fighting with in various brawls at the pubs- perhaps they were strong enough to scare an innocent woman but definitely not strong enough to keep up with me. I was about to beat the shit out of them when suddenly I heard someone call for the constables, which arrived soon.

At that moment I was so naïve to believe that they would arrest the three molesters and thank me for saving the young lady. I was so naïve to believe that law meant justice. I was proven wrong.

I should have noticed that the three guys were much better dressed than the common villain, in fact, they weren't villains at all but sons of some highly-respected Lords and the damsel in distress was merely a plain maid belonging to the household of one of these Lords. Therefore **I** was the one who got arrested. **I** ended up in prison, not even knowing what I was being accused of.

The authorities took their time. Apparently they preferred to simply lock me away in a dungeon, completely isolated from the rest of the world, without a chance to tell my family what had happened to me. But even then I still believed that everything would turn out fine since I hadn't done anything wrong- I was merely a victim of an unfortunate interconnection of misunderstandings.

One day, early in the morning, they took me to Old Bailey where my trial was being held although _trial_ was hardly the correct word to describe this farce. I was formally charged of threatening behaviour, miscellaneously breaking the peace, damage to property- I had ripped a fine silken shirt during the fight- assault and finally slander, because I had falsely accused three respectable men of sexual assault and the intent to rape. There was no way to defend myself due to bribed witnesses and the maid was much too intimidated to speak on my behalf; needless to say I didn't have a lawyer. In the end my word stood against that of three gentlemen, sons of noble lords. The judge looked almost bored when he sentenced me to serve the Royal Navy for five years.

It could have been worse, I know. Five years isn't that long, but it seemed endless to me then. Five years away from my son, not being able to see him growing up, not being able to provide my family. Would Claire earn enough money at the 'Harp and Whistle' to send Will to school? I spotted her face in the crowd when I left London aboard the _Glorious_, hoping I'd return one day to hold her in my arms again. And I cried a silent tear for my little boy, already missing him.

When I was younger I had always dreamt of leaving London. I could have spent hours watching the waters of the Thames flowing towards the sea, dreaming of all those foreign countries at its shore, and I must admit that the idea of getting to see some of them kept the pain of having to leave my family at bay. I even was a tad excited but that didn't last long since life aboard a naval vessel was definitely no fun at all.

Captain Hanson ruled the _Glorious_ with the arrogant air of a man that God himself had chosen for this job; his word was the law and whoever didn't scurry at his command was punished. It didn't matter to him though whether it was an experienced sailor or a new one like me, a landlubber who was utterly confused by all these nautical terms and who could hardly tell starboard from larboard. He simply expected everyone aboard to obey.

I know that discipline aboard a ship is important, that inattentiveness could lead to dangerous situations, but there are other ways to motivate a crew than threatening them with the whip. Captain Hanson however believed in absolutism and tyranny, and he took pride in breaking a man. I witnessed a lot of unnecessary, cruel punishment aboard the _Glorious_; not a single day passed without flogging as if that was Hanson's favourite past time. Mostly he liked to pick the weakest crewmembers, guys like me who had been sentenced to serve the Navy or the young boys that had been pressed into duty since he could afford to lose us. We were treated like scum, as if our only purpose aboard was to serve as doormat for Captain Hanson's ego.

I made the mistake to get seasick once we reached the open sea and that bothered the captain so much that he landed me with two watches in the crow's nest, not caring whether I survived up there. I did, and after that I made a point to learn fast in order to stay alive.

My life was soon dominated by long hours of hard, exhausting work and short periods of dreamless sleep, there was scarcely any room left for getting to know my fellow-sufferers better or to take up any liking of the sea. We didn't come to love each other on this trip- that happened much later on another ship, a black one, when my young Captain woke me before daybreak to show me the sunrise from the crow's nest. But I'm leaping ahead again, so first things first.

One day the situation escalated. I had almost grown accustomed to Captain Hanson's brutal rule and learned to be obsequious, obedient and unobtrusive, but when he intended to send young Peter Miller up shrouds to furl the top gallant during a storm although he knew the lad was scared of heights thus almost ensuring his death, I lost patience. I knew it was foolish to revolt against an absolute ruler and yet I couldn't stand the thought of just watching Peter die. I didn't start arguing with the captain though, I merely put my hand on the lad's shoulder and told him not to worry, that I would do what he had been ordered to. And so I did.

It didn't matter that I probably saved the ship because in the end all that mattered was that I had opposed to a captain's order and therefore I would be punished. With a malicious grin Captain Hanson handed me the cat 'o nine tails.

"Well, since it seems you care about this little coward, Turner, so please care about him thoroughly."

I swallowed hard- he wanted me to flog the boy? I clenched my fists, I would not… but I was left no choice. Disobeying a captain's order had landed me in this dilemma and disobeying him once again would definitely not improve the situation, so I grimly took the cat 'o nine tails from the captain, silently cursing him.

"Give him twenty," Hanson demanded, then he sneered, "or the bo'sun will give him thirty."

I had seen men die after Bo'sun Carlton was done with them and I wanted to spare Peter that fate. At least I could let the whip crack on his skin as lightly as possible, and yet each stroke I gave him was pure agony for me, seeing him wince, hearing him cry although he really tried to be brave.

When it was finally done Hanson clapped his hands in sarcastic approval. "Cute. That was really very cute. I counted each half-hearted stroke and came up with the total sum of twenty. Well done, Turner. I will add these half-hearted strokes to the punishment you deserve for disobeying my orders." He turned to face the Bo'sun while taking the whip of my trembling hands. "Mr Carlton, would you please be so kind to give him fifty? And I rely on you to show him how a real man handles the cat."

"Aye, Capt'n," the brute barked, grinning as maliciously as his captain.

Two Navy officers grabbed me and tied me to the mast, one ripped down my shirt. The moment the whip cracked on my back with brutal force there was absolute silence aboard the _Glorious_; everyone was watching this scene and most of them were disgusted, repelled by the events but no one dared to interfere. Carlton would have flogged me to death without even batting an eye, obsequiously following his captain's orders and showing no mercy at all.

Distracted as they were no one noticed the sloop approaching the_ Glorious_ until it was too late. A shot stopped the flogging; Carlton dropped the whip and stared in disbelief at the hole in his hand.

"Pirates!" Someone screamed but at that point the pirates were already aboard and they were greeted with little resistance. The Navy soldiers however drew their swords but when they realized that none of the crew would lift a finger to join in the fight, they lowered their weapons and surrendered.

A young pirate lad walked up to me and cut my bonds, apparently not realising that they were the only reason I was still on my feet. I collapsed at the mast. Through clouds of pain I noticed that cup of water was being help to my lips and a soft voice encouraged me to drink.

"Santiago move yer arse over here, here's someone who needs yer help!" The soft voice then barked and there was a tone in it that made me open my eyes.

I stared into green orbs, green with an edge to stormy grey, but the most amazing fact was that these eyes belonged to a girl with flashy red hair. I thought I was already hallucinating- what was a young lass doing amongst pirates?- and then I fainted.

When I woke up again I was lying in a bunk, covered with clean sheets, and my wounds had been tended. I didn't understand a thing. Pirates were said to be the terror of the Caribbean and yet they apparently had saved my life.

"He's a handsome guy," I heard a familiar voice say as a soft hand traced gently along my cheekbone, "can I keep him?"

"Rowan!" A rich, male voice rebuked her indignantly before he gave her a telling-off in Spanish which I didn't understand. She cut him short a couple of times, sounding more and more annoyed until she finally left the cabin, slamming the door. The man cursed quietly and then turn his attention to me. Since I still didn't know what the hell was going on here, I tried to crawl deeper under the sheets, pretending...

"You don't have to pretend you're asleep because I know you are not except you have a rare talent for sleeping through a hurricane- very unlikely after what you've been through today. But don't worry, no one aboard the _Chica _will harm you. Tell me your name."

"Turner… Sir!" I replied obediently. "Me name's William Turner."

"Pleased to meet you, William. I'm Miguel Alfonso de Santiago but people call me Don Miguel or simply Santiago. And there's no need to call me _Sir_, the rules aboard the _Chica_ are not as strict as aboard a Navy vessel. Speaking of that, do you mind to tell me what happened to you there?"

I must confess I was more than just a bit puzzled since the Spaniard didn't look like a pirate at all. He was tanned like a sailor but he had aristocratic features, his beard was neatly trimmed and of a silvery grey as was his shoulder-length hair that he wore tied in the nape of his neck. His clothes were clean and of high quality but plain; he wasn't a show-off. Smart, dark-brown eyes were watching me intensely, eyes of a kind that would always know if someone lied. He was without doubt a dangerous man but he was also a kind man, at least he treated me with more gentleness than I had ever experienced during these past weeks after leaving England.

I started to tell my story when suddenly the thought of young Peter Miller flashed through my mind and I sat up with a start. "Peter! There was a lad aboard the _Glorious_, also wounded…"

"Sh. Calm down." Santiago touched my shoulder and softly pushed me back into the pillows. "We know about the boy. He's here, aboard the _Chica_, and he's being cared for just as well as you are. I told you not to worry, William."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I lay down again, closing my eyes for a moment. I didn't know why I had such a soft spot for the boy, perhaps it was because I was a father. That was also why I couldn't stop wondering in what mess I had landed us now. After all, this was a pirate vessel, wasn't it? And what position did Santiago hold? Given the air of authority he radiated he most likely was the captain of the_ Chica_.

"You're right, William, I really should tell you a bit more about us before expecting you to tell me your story," he said then as if reading my mind. I shivered involuntarily but he chose not to notice although he most certainly did; nothing could ever escape his alert eyes. "I'm the captain of the _Chica_ and if you ask Rowan she would claim that we are pirates. I, however, prefer to call us a bunch of freethinking souls roaming the Spanish Main just for the fun of it and if we happen to come upon a rich merchant we're tempted to relieve him of his money."

I frowned, still puzzled. "Are ye trying to tell me ye're sort of a Robin Hood of the High Seas?"

Santiago laughed out loud. "A man of humour and intelligence! You are very welcome aboard the _Chica_- if you want to join us, that is."

"Do I have a chance?"

"Of course. We don't force anyone to stay with us, although- you have to bear with us at least until we reach the next port since we cannot take you back to the _Glorious_."

He told me that they had marooned the marines in longboats, thus handing over the command of the ship to the sailors who hadn't been so keen on joining the pirates. He also told me that they had left Captain Hanson to their mercy which meant he was probably dead by now, given the subliminal hatred the crew had developed against him while not having the slightest chance to live it out. I didn't pity him. He had taken pride in his own cruelty all of his life so mayhap he had deserved a cruel death.

There was a knock at the door and a young man with tousled blonde hair walked in, jingling rings on his arms as he handed Santiago a bowl of broth while eyeing me with curious interest.

The Spaniard took the bowl and dismissed the lad with a casual gesture. "Thank you, Marris. Please be so kind and tell Rowan I want to see her in my cabin, I need to have a word with her." Then he addressed me again, handing me the steaming bowl of broth. "I guess you don't need my assistance, right? Eat your soup, recover, and then think about my offer about joining us."

He got up from the bunk but I wasn't willing to let him go since there were still so many questions floating through my mind. I wanted to find out more about this red-haired girl who definitely wasn't Santiago's daughter although they seemed to have sort of a father/daughter relation.

"Well," he shrugged as he told me the story of an orphan raised in a Tortugan brothel when he had first met her and taken her under his wings. "I should have sent her to a nunnery though. She's a very bright and clever lass, she speaks English and Spanish fluently but unfortunately decency is not in her vocabulary as you will find out."

Rowan Scarlett was definitely not what you'd call a common beauty. At the age of thirteen-almost fourteen as she liked to point out- she still looked rather boyish in appearance and the casual clothes she wore only improved that impression. She was a wild child, hot-tempered and defiant, definitely immune to moral standards. She also knew how to use her female side when things didn't turn out the way she wanted them to. I never met a lass who could pout that convincingly, manipulatively fluttering her long dark lashes and still managing to appear so sweetly innocent despite of the naughty thoughts she might be having. And yet there was so much more to Rowan Scarlett than met the eye. In a strange way she was pretty with her flashy red hair, her golden tanned skin and her stunning eyes that seemed to change their colour according to her moods. She was flirting with me, undisguised and very obviously but fortunately Santiago kept her busy most of the time. Since she wanted to become a pirate captain- he really he took her unusual desire very serious- he taught her everything she needed to know, and she almost absorbed all the knowledge she could get. She was intelligent and ambitious, knowing the chance she was given, knowing as well that she had to be better than any guy if she wanted to succeed in a man's world. Her days were stuffed with lessons in navigation, sword fighting and sailing. She already knew more about ships than I did and she was willing to show me a thing or two only to take the chance to give me one of her flirtatious glances.

"Ye know Bill, virginity is a highly overrated thing." She told me one day when we were fastening sails on the main yard. "I can't wait to get rid of it. Fancy helping me?"

I gasped and nearly fell off the yard while she just laughed, and I didn't know whether to feel flattered or repelled. I liked her, she had a good heart, good humour and a good sense of right or wrong though in a kinda rebellious way. However, she was still a girl- well, she wanted to change that fact but not with me; I wouldn't abuse the hospitality of Santiago and the crew by messing about with her. After all, I liked being aboard the _Chica_. It was a totally different life than I had led aboard the _Glorious _and I really had to get used to not being treated like scum, not being called names or punished for not being fast enough to climb up the shrouds.

That night I was on watch when Rowan sneaked up behind me.

"It's a beautiful night, ain't it?"

I winced, having not heard her approaching. "Aye," I agreed then though I hadn't paid much attention whether the night was beautiful or not. It was just another night at sea, the waters were dark and the noises of the ship were the same like every night. Given that it wasn't the life I had chosen I didn't care much about the surroundings.

"Look at the stars, Bill. They're so close here."

I looked up. I guess it was the first time since I had been forced to board the _Glorious_ that I really took notice of my surroundings and I was surprised. Rowan was right. The stars were much closer here than in London and there were millions of them, sparkling from a velvet black sky. A warm breeze carried exotic scents from a nearby island.

"See, the Southern Cross."

"Where?"

She took advantage of the situation and snuggled closer to me, pointing at the sky. "Ye'd be a lousy navigator if ye don't even know the Southern Cross."

"I wasn't trained in navigation, I was trained in following orders without questioning." I wanted to move away but she insisted in showing me more stars until I felt slightly dizzy. Damned, I was a man. She really shouldn't press her body so tightly against mine and most of all she shouldn't nibble at my earlobe. How could a lass as young as she was be so manipulatively erotic? I didn't want it and yet she aroused me.

"Ye know Bill, I never lock me cabin door…" she whispered seductively into my ear. At that point I lost control if only for a minute. I grabbed her and kissed her, but when I realized what I was doing I fled, shocked and ashamed, and I made sure that I locked **my** cabin door that night.

Rowan sulked for a day or two- not because I had kissed her but because I hadn't come to her cabin. Actually, I was quite glad about that since she really made me nervous. It doesn't happen too often that an attractive lass begs you to get laid and I had been at sea for a few months already. But, I didn't want to risk my neck. Santiago would not be amused if I forgot myself again and gave in to her indecent pleas, and I prayed he would not find out about the kiss.

I wanted to avoid her presence for a while but it's hard to avoid someone on a small ship, you always run into each other. I was just splicing ropes- a wonderfully tranquil job where you can lose yourself in your memories- when Rowan came to sit next to me.

"Ye're avoiding me, I'm feeling offended. Am I such an unpleasant company? Was the kiss so bad?"

I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. No, the kiss itself was not the problem, only kissing a thirteen year old girl whose mentor would slit my throat if he knew. But since she obviously didn't give a damn what Santiago thought about her throwing herself at the next best sailor that came along, there was no use to point that out. Instead I told her that I liked her a lot but I was a married man. That caught her attention. She asked me questions about my family and seemed to be really upset when she heard what had happened to me. Well, actually she cursed every known authority trice, ranted at the injustice of laws or how the bloody rich people bent them and came to the conclusion that a pirate's life was definitely better for me. Then she listed all the advantages of that life and I must admit it sounded reasonable; dangerous but nevertheless reasonable. I couldn't return to England anyway, so why not join the pirates? Until then I had never considered that as an actual alternative.

Santiago approved of my decision, and a week later we celebrated Rowan's fourteenth birthday with me being an official crewmember. Though she was a bit pissed off about getting only some books and not a naked, willing man as a present- I found out that the crew had paid a whore for her buddy Marris' fourteenth birthday so maybe that's why- it was nevertheless a merry party and I felt light-hearted for probably the first time since I had to leave my family. It was almost as if I had found a new family here because the pirates of the _Chica _were such a great bunch of friendly, heartily guys.

Unfortunately good times didn't last forever, especially not in my life. Actually I was used to the ups and downs of my previous life so I didn't expect that the end of my days aboard the _Chica_ would lead to even better times. I didn't know that the best years of my life were yet to come.

Rowan hadn't given up flirting with me and every day it was getting harder not to lose grip of myself. Blast, I was just a man, I hadn't had any woman for at least six months now and although I had sworn to myself not to betray Claire, I did have certain needs. I wouldn't have scrupled seeking the service of a whore but I would not- could not- screw a girl I had grown fond of just for the sake of my personal relief and no matter how much said girl wanted it. It just didn't feel right. Besides, Santiago had made it unmistakably clear that I better kept my fingers off her and he only had to tell me once.

One day, I had been ordered to fetch a couple of things from the hold, I caught Rowan and Marris in a dark corner of the ship, smooching heavily. I thought it was good that she had finally found herself a boy of her age when she suddenly popped up on deck and grabbed my arm.

"Bill, ye know, I'd rather give meself to ye than to any inexperienced guy, savvy?" She flashed me a flirtatious glance that caused an involuntary shiver running down my spine. "After all, ye're a married man so I guess ye'd know quite well what to do. Now tell me- 'cause I'm curious to know- did yer wife like the things ye did in yer bedroom?"

I blushed, embarrassed. As a rule you didn't talk about such things since that was definitely a forbidden topic in any conversation, in fact that shouldn't be discussed at all. But Rowan Scarlett didn't give a damn about conventions nor did she care to mince her words. She simply was straightforward beyond propriety, and I didn't know how to react but to gaze imploringly at Santiago who was watching us vigilantly.

"William Turner," he barked then, thus calling me away from Rowan and I was damned glad about his interference.

"Aye, Sir!"

He rolled his eyes, reminding me once again that he didn't like to be addressed in such a formal way. "I need to have a word with you because I want you to do me a favour."

"Aye?" Whatever he'd asked me to do, I owed him my life. He had saved me from the _Glorious_, without him I would have long been dead, flogged to death by the cruel Bo'sun Carlton- after all I had seen men die at his hands from less than fifty strokes with his bloody cat' o nine tails.

Well, what he asked me to do didn't seem to be a hard task. Apparently I merely had to hand over a ship to a man he described as being an unthankful and unpredictable sod but when he noticed the frightened impression on my face he quickly added that said guy was by no means as cruel as my former captain, just a little bit mad.

"All I'm asking you for is to take care that he gets this ship without knowing I was the one who gave it to him, so don't mention my name. Whatever happens, **do not** mention my name."

The day I left the _Chica _was a hard one for me because I had grown so accustomed to her crew- all great guys and definitely worth their salt. I'd miss them, and I'd miss Rowan- that smart assed, intelligent, manipulative sweet lass. She flung her arms around me when we said goodbye, giving me a kiss that shattered all my ideas about innocence. Santiago was boiling with anger but didn't interfere nonetheless. Perhaps he knew we'd probably never meet again and that her crush on me was nothing more but a brief infatuation so there was no use worrying about it.

I really can't remember how we got to this strange black ship that was drifting in the current somewhere- my memory is so blurred considering these events. All I remember is being locked in the brig of said ship and waking up from a strange dream only to see an outlandish looking stranger gazing down at me, fumbling with his beard as if he didn't know what to do with me.

That was the day I met Jack Sparrow- pardon me, **Captain** Jack Sparrow.

* * *

author's note: yes, next chapter will be about Jack, so please review 


	4. 3 Jack

3. Jack

"What're ye doin' aboard my ship?"

Ah, apparently he liked Santiago's present given that he had only been aboard this ship for minutes and yet he already claimed her his with a possessive ring to it. A dark timbre, a velvet slur; his voice sounded friendly but nevertheless cautious. It was a voice that could lure you, lull you, cheat you.

I opened my eyes and had to bite my lip not to laugh. He looked… I don't know how to describe it but I certainly had expected him to look different due to Santiago's portrayal. More like a ruthless rogue and less than the rag doll he actually was. His clothes were a conglomeration of various rags that had only one thing in common- they didn't go together at all. His boots were of a light brown and made of suede but they were so old and worn that a few scraps of cloth was all that held them together; the colour of his breeches was indefinable. He wore an unbuttoned, torn shirt that probably had been red once, showing too much of his tanned chest. His vest was the sleeveless version of a Spanish marine officer's coat yet still highly decorated. The sash around his hip was patterned with flowers, it was the kind of fabric to make fancy clothes for noble ladies so it was a stark contrast to the pistol and cutlass he had stuffed in it. His sword hung at a belt in a plain sheath; he had one hand on its hilt while the other was fumbling with his beard as if not knowing what to do with me.

I kept staring at him since there still was a lot to stare at. His hair for example. It was long and dark, almost black. A part of it was tied together with a ribbon at the nape of his neck, another on the left side of his head, swinging to and fro with every movement, while the rest of it was braided, decorated with shells and beads, leather strings wound round some strands. To top it all off he had wrapped a blue bandana around his head. I took all these little details in with utter fascination, when I suddenly noticed he was asking me the same question in about three different languages. What was I doing aboard his ship? Well, since I couldn't tell him the truth I repeated what Santiago had told me to answer but when I gazed into his face I immediately regretted having to lie to him.

He was handsome, very handsome. A heartbreaker if I'd ever seen one, the kind of guy that always attracts the glances of every woman around. My thoughts strayed off to Rowan, knowing she wouldn't have given me a second glance if I had stood next to him. His features were delicately shaped, he had a straight nose, high cheekbones and a firm, determined jaw. He, however, preferred to hide his attractiveness behind moustache, goatee and manly stubble, as well as he disguised his eyes with too much khol. The reason was not so hard to figure out- apparently he needed all of this masquerade so as not to appear as young as he actually was. I was astounded. Given Santiago's description I had expected to meet an old cutthroat and definitely not someone much younger than me. Also, I hadn't expected to like this weird guy but the moment our eyes locked I took an immediate liking to him.

Eyes don't lie, they say. His were brown, dark brown and mysterious. Eyes that already had seen much more than a lad of his age should have and yet they were humorous with a sparkle of mischief while at the same time very alert as he observed me with curiosity. Then his mouth twitched and he shot me an open smile, showing perfect white teeth except for a single gold one, which made his smile glitter.

"What's yer name?"

"William Turner," I hesitated before adding, " friends call me Bill."

With one finger at his chin he thoughtfully cocked his head and scrutinized me for a moment. I wonder what he saw in me but whatever it was, he offered me his hand to help me up.

His grip was firm; he had strong, calloused hands. The hands of a sailor who was used to hard work, to wielding a sword. Yet his fingers were fine-boned and long, almost elegant if not for the dirt under his fingernails. Fingers of a pickpocket.

"And ye are?"

"Jack." He paused for a second, then puffed himself up in front of me in all his funny, eccentric glory. He was about a head shorter than me, of slender statue but I believed the cords of muscles flowing under his tanned skin were solid. "I'm **Captain** Jack Sparrow. Welcome aboard the _Black Pearl_, Bill."

"Black Pearl?"

"Aye, me ship. The one ye're aboard if ye know what I mean."

"I'm not that stupid. I simply didn't know that that's her name."

"'Course not. I just gave her that name when I first saw her."

"Ah." I nodded, feeling like a fool.

"Ye know, Bill, black pearls are rare and hard to find, and ye don't find a beauty like her every day. She almost screamed to be mine... um, actually it was more like singing she did."

"Singing?" He was most definitely mad, talking about singing ships. But then again there was something odd about this ship, she wasn't only keel, hull, decks, masts and sails; there was an inaudible _voice_, a humming. I glanced at Jack, doubting my own sanity. Perhaps it was the Caribbean sun. "Ye're right," I had to admit.

"Ye hear it too?"

I did, but I also heard noises on deck, heavy footsteps, demanding voices. Apparently not everyone agreed with Jack Sparrow that the _Black Pearl_ was his; there was quarrel in the air. The young pirate stiffened and cursed, then he scurried towards the deck with me following in his wake.

There were several pirates aboard the ship now, actually two groups of pirates standing opposite of each other and having a heated argument. Their spokesman was a hulking great brute of a man who looked every inch the pirates of my imagination. His face was scared, the glance of his eyes mean as he faced Jack.

"What gives ye the idea we'd let ye 'ave this ship, Sparrow? Ye won't get it an' we won't chose ye to be our new capt'n. Wake up, li'le boy. Ye're still wet behind the ears and much too full of yerself." He was a giant compared to my strange new friend, armed to the teeth, and a blow of his fists could probably kill a man. Nevertheless Jack stared at him with rebellious defiance, eager to pick a fight. Would anyone help him?

The larger group of pirates were followers of the brute while the smaller group seemed to favour Sparrow. None of them moved or interfered though, they all watched the scene with the same strange fascination as I did.

"Alright, Hulky Hobbs. What d'ye say to that- we forget about me becoming captain of the _Mermaid_, savvy? Ye can have her and I take this one instead, so we're both captains of our own ships. Do we have an accord?"

"Ye're wanna fob me off with the smaller ship and expect me to let ye get away with it? Ye're daft, lad. I'm the elder 'n more experienced of us therefore **this** ship is mine. Ye go back to the _Mermaid_ and scrub the deck. Did I make meself clear?"

"Oh, unmistakably clear." Jack scratched his stubbly chin as if thinking hard about the other pirate's words, then beamed cheerfully. "I do wonder though why my name is written on the hull if she's supposed to be yers?"

The giant pirate shot him a blank glance, apparently not getting what Jack Sparrow was up to. Well, actually none of us who watched that scene was.

"Yer name? On the hull?"

Jack shrugged and examined his fingernails as if the dirt underneath them was far more interesting than this conversation. Did he know that Hulky Hobbs would actually go to take a look over the rail? However, the brute did.

"Can't see anythin'."

Jack hurried to his side, wildly gesticulating at a point probably only he could see because we didn't see anything either except for the original nameplate of the ship that was now called the _Black Pearl_. Hulky Hobbs bent further over the rail as the younger pirate teased him. "What d'ye see?"

"Nothin'."

"Right, that's exactly what ye'll get." With that Jack gave him a well-placed kick in the butt that sent Hulky Hobbs straight over the rail and down into the sea.

I gasped amazed. Mad or not, he definitely had a knack for manipulating the opportune moment to get the upper hand over a complicated situation, and he didn't cease to surprise me. When he noticed that Hulky Hobbs couldn't swim he tossed him a rope before whirling around in order to face the other pirates. He looked a bit cornered, desperate, trying to figure out who was on his side or not. For a moment it seemed that a fight amongst the pirates was likely to break lose, swords were drawn, and the Jack supporters were still outnumbered.

In an attack of mental derangement I stepped at his side, reassuringly. At the same time I cursed myself for being so incredibly foolish- I should have learned not to interfere in the affairs of strangers because that only landed me in a mess. I could be sitting in my house in London now, drinking tea with Claire if I hadn't chosen to play the hero for an unknown damsel in distress. And though I was still damned sure I could have dealt with the three gents threatening her then, it was a completely different situation now. Now I faced pirates, gruesome, unscrupulous, blood-thirsty pirates who were armed to the teeth while I wasn't armed at all. Besides, I wasn't even properly trained in using a weapon, I couldn't sword fight. Why did I put myself in danger for a funny lad I had just met a few moments ago? And not to forget, Sparrow was a pirate too. Probably not as blood-thirsty as the rest of them but a pirate nevertheless.

"Who's 'im?" My thoughts were interrupted when one of the pirates- a grey-haired, weathered guy with a peg-leg- pointed at me as if he had just taken notice of me for the first time. Well, in fact I had tried to be unobtrusive and stay in the background before whatever had driven me to take Jack's side. Perhaps his madness was already rubbing off on me and I was slowly losing my mind. What else could you expect aboard a singing ship…

"That's me friend Bill." Jack wrapped a casual arm around my shoulder. "Ye know he was a gift from the mermaids who also gave me this li'le ship."

Oh great, now that would definitely help to improve the situation. Strangely, it did. Most of the pirates backed away, throwing me frightened glances and some even crossed themselves.

"Ah, ye can always trust a superstitious sailor to be superstitious when mermaids are involved, and pirates are no exception from that rule. Even if they call their ship the _Mermaid_, they still believe mermaids are frightful bad luck," he whispered conspiratorially but then he let go of me because he suddenly realized it wasn't good to frighten everyone off; after all, he couldn't sail a ship of this size all on his onesies. So he scampered to convince and persuade at least a few of his fellow pirates to stay.

Listening to Jack was intriguing. He was brilliant with words and he knew what people wanted to hear in order to wind them round his little finger and agree with him. Although his logic seemed to be odd- like he compared the one sound leg of Peg-leg Pat with a mermaid's fish tails to assure him no mermaid would ever harm him- it was nevertheless matchless and, surprisingly, it worked. He actually managed to find himself a crew that was accepting him as captain of the Black Pearl.

Very cocksure of himself Jack then stalked up the stairs to the quarterdeck with feline grace, trailing along the dark wood of the banisters, admiring the beautifully carved figures at the stern and grinning when one of them happened to resemble a mermaid, before taking over the helm. The way he touched the wheel was almost sensual, like caressing the body of a lover, a dreamy look on his face. But when he noticed that he was being watched by his crew and me he immediately straightened himself, trying to look every inch the pirate captain he was now. And yet there was something amiss, he still wasn't completely satisfied.

"Peg! Peg, where's me hat?"

Peg-leg Pat limped up to him, each step followed by a loud thud of his wooden leg, and handed him a black tricorn hat. **Now** Captain Jack Sparrow was ready to bark orders.

"Scurry ye scabrous dog! I want movement! Brace the sails!"

Though I tried to make myself useful I merely seemed to be in everybody's way since I didn't really know what to do. Aboard the Glorious I had been given precise orders- actually I had been dragging at the same bloody ropes every bloody day without knowing why. No one had cared to explain. You blindly following orders without thinking about it, you obeyed or were punished, it was as simple as that. Feeling superfluous I looked hectically around.

"Seems the mermaids 'ave forgotten to give sea legs to yer new _friend,_" I heard Peg-leg Pat sneer, "looks like he's 'bout to stumble over his own bootstraps ev'ry minute. What a bloody lousy sailor."

I felt embarrassed; I didn't want to appear a total failure, but of course he was right. I was a lousy sailor because I held no love for the sea. I didn't want to be at sea. I wanted to be home in London, with Claire and Will, and not miles away on the other side of the world where the bloody sun was roasting me.

There was a moment of reverent silence when the wind filled the canvas. I looked up, like the others, and had to admit that even I was impressed to see the raven black sails fully blown against the blue Caribbean sky. An exciting shiver seemed to run through the planks as the Pearl gained speed and- damned, was she fast. She almost flew across the waves, sending up fountains of glittering spray at her bow. I was mesmerized.

I glanced at Jack who stood at the helm, proud like a peacock, a wild, broad grin on his face; the wind played with the beads in his hair and made them jingle. He was excited, overjoyed and yet he looked as if he'd never done anything else in his life; he really seemed to belong there. Probably he would have stayed there for days, fixed to the wheel and not willing to let go of his new toy, wanting to test her out, sailing complicated manoeuvres, but then he proved to be a prudent captain. He knew that we were too small in number to handle a ship of her size properly so he settled for letting her run for a while, all canvas set and fully braced, before he gave orders to drop anchor in a calm, moonlit bay thus giving the crew a chance to take a rest.

He came up to me, slightly swaying, hands fluttering eccentrically "Ye gave me a good ship, Bill. Now would ye please be so kind to show me my cabin?"

"Aye Capt'n." I silently cursed Santiago for just dropping me in the brig without showing me the ship because I had no idea where his cabin was. On the other hand that made the story Santiago had instructed me to tell even more believable. _Don't leave out the Navy, just change the ending of your story_, he had insisted, _you weren't rescued by pirates but managed to slip off the Glorious when in port and hid aboard a merchant vessel on her maiden voyage. They discovered the stowaway and locked you in the brig before pirates attacked the ship leaving you the sole survivor…_

I opened a door that led from the main deck to a spacious cabin below the quarterdeck. It was nicely furnished in the same dark wood the Pearl was made of, with a large round table in the middle, some comfortable chairs and a bed. No bunk- a real bed. My eyes grew wide.

"Wow, " Jack breathed impressed before continuing in a more casual, slurred way, "I guess it's … appropriable for a pirate captain. Ain't it?"

"Aye Capt'n." I wondered why he didn't seem to notice what I noticed. The cabin looked… well, actually the whole ship looked too new and unused for a vessel supposed to be on her maiden voyage since there was no sign of her former crew, no personal belongings, nothing. Of course there had been no former crew but if Santiago wanted my story to be believable he should have taken better care of such small details. Even the nautical things- instruments- at the table looked brand new.

Jack didn't notice because he had apparently forgotten about everything including myself when he had launched himself at the bed, arms spread out wide, almost giggling with pleasure. I could understand him. The silken sheets that covered it were probably worth more than any casual docker earned in a year and he certainly didn't look like an upper-class lad who was used to it.

"Is there anything else ye need, Capt'n?"

"Rum," he said dreamily, then he became aware of my presence and sat up with a start.

Meanwhile I was rummaging through cupboards that were hidden behind carved wood in order to get him a drink, hoping at least not to appear a total loser with that simply task. Finally I found a cabinet with various bottles. I placed one on the table, together with a glass.

He gave me an odd gaze and the velvet slur of his voice was gone. "Is there anything wrong between us?"

"Pardon me, Capt'n?"

He mockingly imitated my words but somehow he appeared disappointed, even offended and I still didn't know what I had done wrong. I was dismissed with a casual wave of his fingers. I hadn't made it to the door yet when he suddenly asked, quietly, "Why did ye take me side, Bill?"

"I…" I turned around, not much wiser though. "I don't know."

"Ah."

We eyed each other in silence for a moment. I couldn't possibly say that I liked him or that he had looked so young and lost just now on deck- damned, he was a pirate, a pirate captain to be more precisely, he wouldn't want to hear such things.

"It seemed right." I offered.

"And it doesn't seem right to drink a glass of rum with me?"

Suddenly it dawned upon me what he was about, or at least almost. But why? Was he just trying to be friendly or did he believe in his own yarn I was a personal gift from the mermaids? Or did he have any ambiguous motives? I was cautious and somewhat angry.

"Well, I didn't lie to ye when I told ye I was being pressed to join the bloody Navy," I snapped before venting all my frustration, "and bloody Navy Captains don't drink rum with the scum that's sailing their bloody ships, they don't even look at ye, they don't know yer name **except** they can think up yet another reason why ye have to be punished again and of course they don't dirty their fine fingers with ye 'cause their officers do that. Damned, I never wanted to leave my family, I never wanted to go to sea and I never wanted having to become a pirate just to survive so stop pouting that it never came to me mind ye wanted me to join ye for a drink. I can't read yer bloody thoughts."

He stared at me and my heart sank. Great, now I really had gone too far. It had definitely **not** been wise to tell a pirate captain to stop pouting, no matter how young said pirate captain was. Jack Sparrow however merely raised an amused eyebrow at me, poured a glass of rum and took a sip before handing it to me.

"Drink." His voice sounded soft but with authority as he directed me to a chair and made me sit down, patting my shoulder. "It's not that bad, ain't it?"

Blast, it seemed he always got what he wanted. Actually I didn't mind given that his company was far less frightening than the other pirates although I made a point not to underestimate him. He was unpredictable and he proved that with a swift movement, pulling down my shirt. I gasped and backed away. What was he up to now?

"Don't fret, I'm not gonna harm ye. And I swear I'm gonna be a better captain than the bastard who did that to ye. No flogging aboard the Pearl, **never**."

The scars- he had seen the scars the cat had left on my back and I was a daft idiot once again for thinking ill of him. His reaction was to pour me another drink, as if rum was his wonder cure-all. Well, getting drunk was a tempting idea and rum was as good as any other drink to drown my sorrows.

I can't remember what we talked about that night- well, actually it had been me doing most of the talking, babbling about Claire and my dear little Will- but I do still remember being surprised that he was actually an attentive listener; I hadn't expected that. But then again Captain Jack Sparrow would never cease to surprise me.

The next day I learned that we were heading for Tortuga- the most notorious pirate haven in the Caribbean, that much I already knew - where Captain Sparrow wanted to recruit some more crewmembers.

My first impression of said place was not very pleasant; the air was too hot, too humid, and stank like hell. Drunks were lying in the gutter, embracing their own stench, whores were practising their job wherever they found a patron, and in between that numerous bawls took place as well as there were actually people selling goods at a market. Well, I had seen riots and debauchery in London so I didn't give a damn about that but I did stop to stare in utter fascination at a stall that sold strange, exotic looking fruits.

"Blast! Ne'er seen a pineapple?" Captain Sparrow cursed as he bumped into me

I shook my head. You certainly don't get pineapples in London unless you're very rich, which I wasn't. I wouldn't be here if I was one of the rich folks. But well, it wasn't that bad to be here either and perhaps pineapples tasted sweeter when stolen from a market stall and eaten on a roof overlooking Tortuga harbour, of course after causing a riot at that market and being chased by annoyed citizens as well as some soldiers. That's what Jack called fun. And I sat next to him, dripping with sticky sweet pineapple juice, and thought that life was wonderful.

Later that day he took me to a tavern called the _Faithful Bride_. The definitely not faithful ladies working there were excited to see him and swarmed around him like moths attracted to a light. He loved that; he loved being the centre of attention. The ladies however didn't like him kissing all of them and no, it weren't chaste kisses he gave them. They started bitching at each other before they came to the conclusion that Jack was the one to blame for their trouble so one by one they slapped him and vanished to look for more reliable patrons. In the end only a pretty dark haired stayed, by far the best choice. She sat down on his lap with a triumphant smile as if she had just won a prize.

"That's Dolores," he informed me before he greedily stuck his tongue down her throat.

Alright this was a pirate tavern in a pirate town nevertheless I still believed that some things belonged to the privacy of a bedroom or wherever, at least they should not been made a public event. The blood rushed to my cheeks when I saw him fumbling with her breasts, encouraged by her almost orgasmic moaning. That was too much. I would not watch this any longer.

"I'll go back to the Pearl."

He shot me an odd look as if he had completely forgotten about me- which was very likely- then he nearly dropped the lass in order to stop me from leaving.

"I'm sorry. I forgot the lousy wages the Navy's paying if they pay at all so be me guest- chose any wench ye like and tell her"

I rolled my eyes and cut him off. "Jack, I'm a married man!"

"Aye, ye mentioned that. So what? Yer wife's not 'ere."

"I promised to be a **faithful**, loving husband." Well, I was quite sure I would misinterpret the faithful part one day and seek the service of a whore but not in public and most definitely not with Jack paying for it. I had at least that much pride left. To change the topic I reminded him why we had came to Tortuga in the first place. "Thanks for yer offer but we're here 'cause ye need a crew, so if ye can't control yer needs ye could at least take Dolores to the upstairs' rooms for a few minutes."

"A few minutes?" He raised a brow at me, sounding offended. "I thought as a married man ye should know that it takes more than just a few minutes to"

I didn't want to hear him out. That was not a topic I wanted to discuss with him or anyone else. "I see ye in the morrow then."

There were many men who seemed to be keen on sailing with Captain Jack Sparrow but before they could sign on they had to pass old Peg-leg Pat, who wasn't accepting just anyone.

"Why d'ye turn them down?" I asked with mild curiosity, tying to see a pattern in his doings. .

The old salt gave me shrewd glance. "'Cause most o them aren't more than bloody bastards lookin' for a chance to get a good ship, not scruplin' to start a mutiny. I'm not too fond of Sparrow but I definitely do detest mutineers." He shrugged. "Actually I wouldn't care about Sparrow at all if not for Sam, Captain Samuel Davies that is, me recently deceased friend. Dunno what he saw in this young trouble maker and ne'er-do-right but he had a soft spot for 'im. Took 'im under his wings, taught 'im ev'rything 'bout sailin' an' well, I must admit he was learnin' fast. Clever lad he is, that Sparrow. Came aboard the Mermaid knowin' nothin' at all but worked his way up faster than a bloody shootin' star. He's one of these rare talents who knows the sea, understands her, foresees a storm long before anyone else; the sea's in his blood. Damned good sailor, great navigator **and** cartographer- but much too full o himself. And me thinks he's much too young to captain his own ship."

"How old is he anyway?"

"Hm- he wasn't older than thirteen when he first joined the crew, stayed with us for a year and then signed on with Morgan, raiding Panama."

"Henry Morgan?" I gasped, utterly shocked. I had heard of the raid of Panama- you couldn't have missed talk about it when living in London. The King hadn't been very pleased with Morgan's deeds since he had just signed peace with Spain so Morgan had been conducted to London. But instead of rotting in the Tower he had enjoyed life in the best circles of high-society and was knighted in '74. It's a weird world we're living in where people get rewarded for committing incredible cruelties and I didn't want to imagine what witnessing that had done to Jack; no boy of his age should have participated in this slaughter. I was surprised though that he was only five years younger than me and yet he had gone through so much more in his life

"When Sparrow came back to us one day he was different," Peg-leg Pat continued indifferently, "not completely changed but, um…darker, if ye know what I mean. Too consumed with his oddities to care about others."

I felt the urgent desire to throttle him. Jack was **not** an uncaring man, I knew that. But if no one cared about him why should he care about others? I remembered sharing stolen pineapples on a roof and decided that he could count on me now.


	5. 4 Morgan's hat

4- Morgan's hat

"Bill? Bill!" A hand on my shoulder, shaking me not to gently. "Bill, wake up!"

I wanted to shake off the hand, turn around and fall asleep again. Damned, I was tired. But my new captain was persistent and besides, you don't disobey your captain even if he's five years younger. Apparently he had set his stubborn mind on turning me into a good sailor- one the mermaids that had sent me would be proud of. Just why did that had to happen in the middle of the night? I was tired. And I didn't believe in mermaids.

After leaving Tortuga I had expected Captain Jack Sparrow to go raiding every ship that passed his way- after all, that's what pirates did, raiding, pilfering and plundering, let alone all the other deeds I didn't want to mention let alone think of. He, however, was not acting like the pirates I had heard of. Instead of immediately going on a raid with a crew he hardly knew and a ship that was also new to him he had insisted on testing out our limits first. He made us hoist and trim the sails, we tacked and wore two or three times an hour to sail to nowhere in particularly on a course only he knew. Later on we'd had some exercise at the cannons, loading them, running them out, firing, sponging, ramming and running out again although most of the time we merely pretending to fire. It was like the drill I was used to from the _Glorious_ frigate, and yet it was different; Jack made it different. He didn't punished those who were not quick enough to follow his orders but encouraged us to do better, occasionally cracking a joke to light up the mood. I understood then that all this training was essential, that he didn't want to be unprepared once we would come upon a ship to loot. Probably he had learned from Morgan who was said to be a great strategist.

However, now I wanted to sleep and not to be woken until it was time for my watch but when Jack Sparrow had taken it into his head to wake me for whatever reason there was hardly a chance to ignore that. He rattled my shoulder once again.

"Bill! C'mon now ye lazy sot."

Did he never need a rest? Even at this early hour he looked so damned fresh and full of energy- little surprise since he had been the one who'd just been barking orders from the helm while I had been amongst those carrying them out. Also he had been giving me some extra lessons. First I had thought him daft when he'd asked me why I had followed a specific order so I told him snappish, "'cause ye bloody ordered me to do so!" Jack had rolled his eyes heavenwards and finally I got what he wanted from me; he wanted me to **understand** what I was doing. So I thought up it over and came up with a better answer, considering the wind and its effect on the sails.

"Very well, so ye do have a brain," he had said, smiling contently.

This morning it didn't seem he wanted to give me another lesson. Except for the watch we were the only ones on deck as we made our way to the main shrouds and climbed up the ratlines to the crow's nest, where Jack gestured me to sit down next to him. At least I wasn't scared of heights given that the deck of the Pearl was quite far below us.

"Look!" Jack elbowed me, pointing to the eastern horizon.

The sky was still dark but most of the stars had already faded and there was a faint light to be seen at the horizon. Then that light increased, forming into pinkish hazes that illuminated the firmament until the red ball of the sun slowly rose from what seemed like straight out of the sea as if it had slept there. The more it emerged the brighter the colours that painted the first light of a new day were; they varied from crimson to a light orange now and the sea was dappled in shimmering gold. In midst the golden crowned waves a school of dolphins broke through the surface- and my heart leapt with joy. It was beautiful, so utterly beautiful I couldn't find words to describe it. The world was painted in sunrise colours and it lay at our feet. What an awesome experience! I gazed at Jack and saw an excited sparkle in his eyes but when I wanted to thank him for waking me and sharing this, ready to go back to the daily routine, he grabbed my arm to make me stay a little bit longer. From the crow's nest he bellowed orders to weigh the anchor and hoist the sails.

It was an impressive moment to see the black canvas unfurling, flapping languidly against the masts first but then fully blown when braced to the wind that was humming in the rigging like a longing melody. As the Pearl gained speed, her bow showered up a sparkling spray, glittering in the sunlight. Looking down from our high seat above the sea I suddenly noticed that the water wasn't all blue- there were dark green spots over a rocky bottom, a light blue near a bank, brown patches warned of rocks near the surface and the waters were of a light green over sand.

Now I understood what drove Jack, why he loved the sea so much and that day the bloody rascal made me love the sea too. It was a love that would last longer than any other in my life, I just didn't know it then. Actually I hadn't even been half way aware of that change in me when we climbed down to deck a little later and Jack asked me to join him on the quarterdeck.

Aboard the _Glorious _only high ranking officers had been permitted to walk up the stairs to the quarterdeck so I felt a little awestruck up there and that feeling increased even more after Jack made me to take over the helm. I grabbed the smooth wood of the wheel so tightly with insecurity that my knuckles went white.

"No! No, no, no," Jack yelled at me, "that's no way to treat a ship. Ye look like ye're going to strangle her! Loosen yer grip, treat her like a lady. Hold her like a lover, caress her gently- ye know what I mean, don't ye? After all, ye keep telling me ye're a married man… ah, now that looks much better." He saw me relaxing a bit and sat down, leaning his back against the stern bulwark, cramming his hat over his eyes. "Keep the course."

I don't know what it was but I felt more than just wood. My fingertips prickled and the hair on my arms stood on ends when I sensed_ something_. There **was** more about this ship than just the odd keel, hull and masts. I wouldn't say it was alive but it wasn't dead wood either. Whatever it was, it seemed kind and curious, acknowledging me with mental swirls hovering throughout me. I gasped with a mixture of shock and astonishment, and I heard Jack chuckle quietly. So he was watching me from under the brim of his hat. When I turned around to shot him a gaze a knowing half grin curled up the corner of his lips.

"Anything amiss? Ye do know how to keep the course, don't ye?" His voice was absolutely innocent, almost sweet, and any bystander must have thought he was merely jesting my poor sailing skills. No one else seemed to be aware that the Black Pearl was more than just a ship.

I stood at the helm for a couple of hours and managed to prove I wasn't that incompetent; though I had no idea how to plot a course I could at least hold it. Behind me, Jack had apparently fallen asleep because he didn't stir nor say a word for all these hours.

He woke up a little past noon, yawned, and stretched his limbs like a content cat after dozing lazily in the sun. Then he walked up to me and looked over my shoulder at the compass.

"Well done," nonchalantly he patted my shoulder, "ye'd be a good helmsman but ye should be wearing a hat- it would look so much better."

"Oh, I'm sorry to offend yer fair eyes," I quipped, feeling a tad boisterous after being praised and besides, the whole day, beginning from watching the sunrise to taking over the helm, had set me in a high-spirited mood.

"No offence taken," he said in the same tone, smiling broadly at me, "I'll get ye a hat, a really"

I thought I could see to it myself and made an attempt to snatch Jack's hat from his head but he jerked back. For an instant a shadow flickered over his face, darkening it. I made a placatory gesture, wondering what had gotten into him. Most certainly I hadn't wanted to annoy him. Then the moment was gone as soon as it had come and he smiled again- only this time it didn't touch his eyes. They were still dark, thoughtful, even if his voice sounded light.

"So ye have already developed a liking to pilfering, eh? I swear ye'll be a good pirate one day as long as ye keep yer fingers off me hat. It's my" he broke off mid sentence to observe the sky which seemed to be as clear and blue as the past days. "A storm's brewing. We'd better seek shelter."

I looked up but couldn't see any sign of a coming storm. Nevertheless Jack barked orders and soon there was bustling activity aboard the Pearl.

"Stand by for a change of course to starboard! Course north-north-west Mr Turner!"

I almost froze- he wanted me to do that? Yet a feeling of confidence flowed through me the moment I took the wheel as if the ship itself believed I'd make it. When Jack told me I put the wheel over and Pearl obeyed willingly. The horizon seemed to lift and sank again as her bow swung round in the wanted direction. Aloft blocks squealed as the yards were hauled and braced round, and the sheets were trimmed on the other tack. Jack nodded approvingly and I was proud. No, not only proud- most of all I **enjoyed** what I was doing and I even **understood **the whole manoeuvre. I'm sure I grinned kinda stupidly because this big ship had reacted to something as small and insignificant as a turn on the wheel. Of course, there had been more than that, the bracing of the yards and the trimming of the sails, but it was nevertheless fascinating.

It was also fascinating that Jack had been right with his weather forecast. About one hour after tacking the wind was getting stronger and the sky was clouding over; soon the first drops of rain fell on the deck. Fortunately the shore was already at sight since it would have probably dampened my recently awoken love for the sea if I had had to face a heavy storm, soaked to the skin in rain.

Today I know that Jack would rather stand a storm than to sit it out; he needed that flush of adrenaline in his veins and I must admit I liked it too. But I hadn't been ready for it then, the day he had made me starting to love the sea, though avoiding me to fall out of love again had surely been his least intention when he gave orders to drop anchor in a calm Jamaican bay. Given that the Pearl was still quite new to him and he didn't know the crew well it had been a wise decision. Despite his age he definitely was a judicious, almost prudent captain who cared for those under his command and didn't want to risk our lives. Later he became more daring, adventurous to a point he appeared to be utterly mad to most people and yet I always believed he exactly knew his limits- he just tended to overstretch them occasionally.

This night, however, it had been better to seek shelter and I was glad the gale didn't hit us with its full force in the middle of the sea; the battle of elements was still impressive enough to watch through the stern windows of Jack's cabin with the Pearl securely anchored in that cove. The rain drummed against the glass of the windows, the wind was howling, and a rapid series of flashes lightened the night in eerie colours; there was a certain beauty in watching this.

It had became a habit of us to sit together in his cabin after the work was done and to share a bottle of rum, apparently rum was the fuel that kept a pirate going. I was beginning to get accustomed to it too but mostly I enjoyed having a drink with Jack. Though he was known to be a loner he seemed to be seeking my company, wanting to keep me around. I didn't mind. I liked him and because of that I wondered why he had no friends. One of the reasons might be that his way of thinking was much too extreme for a plain sailor or pirate to understand. They thought he was mad when in fact he was brilliant, confusingly intelligent. He had his very own ideas about life which were quite radical, almost anarchistic, and that gave us topic for many brain stimulating conversations. For the first time since I had to quit school I had found someone equally learned to talk to- perhaps Jack felt the same about me. Of course I didn't agree with everything he said, and he accepted that; sometimes it actually happened that I managed to bring him around to my point of view.

We talked about piracy or the reason why he had chosen to become a pirate. To him it was freedom, independence. He loved the sea but he loathed the strict rules and discipline aboard naval or merchant vessels, even thinking about that made him involuntarily shiver with disgust. Well, I couldn't imagine him there either; the thought of an arrogant, merciless captain like Hanson probably breaking the bright spirit Jack was made me shiver. Well I should have protested that stealing to make your living wasn't right but I didn't. I had experienced for myself that laws didn't mean justice given that they could be bent for those with money and influence. In addition I remembered Morgan's great appearance in London's high-society and pondered the difference of a pirate and a privateer. Was stealing to be justified when the one you steal from was an enemy of the crown and the crown got a share of the plunder? Morgan got knighted for doing exactly that while there soon would be a prize on Jack's head for doing just the same. Since I had left the path of what society considered to be an honest man anyway I shrugged off the thought and didn't regret the direction I was heading.

"It belonged to me father…" Jack said suddenly, pointing at his hat on the table. Sometimes a conversation with him was like sailing uncharted waters because you never knew where it would lead to, and we hadn't been talking about hats before. He got to his feet and walked to the stern window, looking outside. "…it's all that's left of him."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I promise I won't try to nick it again." So his father was dead, I assumed, noticing a hurt undertone in his voice, and in the light of another flash I could see that his jaw was set tight. He looked so vulnerable that I had to join him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Jack shook his head. "Nah, just keep yer fingers of me hat."

Alright that had been clear. Of course he wouldn't pour out his heart to a hand before the mast; I had forgotten my position. He was the captain of this ship and- he surprised me again.

"Don't go, Bill. I didn't mean to be rude," he grabbed my arm when I wanted to take a leave, "let's just have another drink, aye?"

"As ye please." I was still a bit angry, most of all with myself for being so fond of him, wishing to be his friend, the one he'd open his heart to, when I should wish instead that I would leave more to my son than just an old hat or that my son should not be without his father at all.

"Ye're thinking 'bout Will?"

I nodded.

"I'm sure ye're a good father…"

"Are ye? Well, as it seems I scarcely have the opportunity to prove **him** since at the moment I'm aboard a pirate ship in the Caribbean, more than 3000 miles away from London."

"I can take ye back to London if ye want. Remember that it's my ship ye're on." Jack offered quietly.

"Great idea!" I snapped. "It's just that I can't go back without being charged for desertion and piraty, probably even treachery, and I definitely want my son to have a better image of me than seeing me swinging from the gallows at Execution Dock. Thanks Captain Sparrow but I rather stay here so at least all the extra lessons in sailing ye're giving me for whatever reason won't be to no avail."

"So ye still don't like the sea?"

Jack gave the impression as if I had just told him that I was not his gift from the mermaids- did he still believe in his own yarn? However, he almost sounded sad, believing I merely stayed because I had no other place to go and yet fearing to lose me if he couldn't make me love the sea. He looked a bit lost though so I made a point to try and change that.

I reached out to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to sound like an ungrateful moaner, especially not after today. Ye're not to blame for the things that went wrong in my life so instead of being frustrated I should be glad my life took such a fortunate turn. Actually I enjoy being aboard the Pearl."

Jack flashed me a broad smile, his golden tooth glimmering in the candlelight. "That's good 'cause Pearl likes ye."

"I'm glad to know." Half a year ago I **never** would have even dreamt of caring whether a ship liked me or not but after today's experience at the helm I did. The Black Pearl was definitely more than just an ordinary ship.

"Of course she likes me more."

"Of course."

"That's why I'm her captain and ye're merely her first mate. Cheers!"

He clinked glasses with me and gulped down his rum; I followed his example when I finally grasped what he had just said and almost choked on my drink. I spilled it all over the table, coughing hard. Helpfully Jack patted my back.

"Ye're alright, mate?"

"Aye," I managed to utter between two deep breaths. I waited another moment until my breathing became even again before asking confused, "First mate? But that's Peg-leg Pat's position. I"

"Nope." Jack cut me short, "Peg might believe that's his position and I let him believe what he wants to believe, but fact is that Pearl had decided ye're her first mate. I won't doubt her choice although first I thought it was a poor one. Fortunately ye're a fast learner so all's not lost."

I wasn't sure whether that was a compliment but I thanked him anyway. "And what about Peg-leg Pat?" I must admit I was a bit worried he might take offence in being passed over by a nobody who neither had his skills nor his knowledge. But Jack just put that off with a casual gesture.

"Don't worry 'bout 'im. He won't stay that long anyway 'cause he doesn't like me much and besides, he's quite old. Actually I guess he'd be overjoyed to leave once ye seem fit enough to take over." Jack filled our glasses again, raising his in a toast but withholding mine. "On my first mate I'd say- if ye promise not to spill the good rum again that is."

He actually waited until I nodded before he handed me the glass. We drank in silence for a moment, then I noticed that he was watching me, his head cocked. I shot him a quizzical glance.

"Ye still need a hat, ye know."

"How 'bout that one?"

Jack Sparrow sounded like a man strolling across a market and pointing out to goods for sell when in fact we were lying on a roof in Port Royal, observing the hustle and bustle in the street below. He had set it into this thick head of his that I needed a hat so a hat I would get, and of course he would not walk into a shop to simply buy one even if I had suggested that- no, that would be much too boring for him. He needed the excitement, the adventure of a theft, the rush of adrenaline in his veins, while I thought more pragmatically.

"Nah, he's just a simple peasant who works hard for his living; it wouldn't feel right to steal his hat."

Jack sighed, obviously tired of hearing my moral complaints but accepting them nevertheless. He quipped, "Well, well, so ye want a fine gentleman's hat? That one?"

I rolled my eyes. "Shouldn't it be a little more practical and less like a peacock?"

"These aren't peacock feathers, Bill."

"However, I'd feel kinda ridiculous wearing a hat with pink feathers."

"Ye're right, I think pink doesn't suit ye at all," he chuckled.

I let my eyes roam the market place when I spotted a group of fine gentlemen probably discussing the prices of sugar cane- or slaves. I pointed at one of them, a well fed and dressed lord, saying, "How 'bout that one?" without considering that my choice would lead to serious consequences.

"Now that's a challenge," Jack smirked approvingly as he eyed the guy, apparently recognizing him. They had met before, that much was certain, and it was also obvious he still had a bone to pick with him, "that'll be real fun."

"Who's he?" I asked worriedly but my mad pirate friend had already snuck away in order to do something incredibly stupid as I guessed when the man whose hat he wanted to steal turned around. Blast, I knew that face! There had been portraits of him in London's newspapers two years ago. Slowly it dawned upon me that I had carelessly chosen Sir Henry Morgan's hat and I knew as well that Jack would try to get it for me- or perhaps not for me but to get his one over on him. I hurried to catch up with Jack on order to tell him I'd been joking, that I really didn't want this hat, but he just shook off my objections.

There had been a time when Port Royal was called the wickedest place on earth and many pirate- privateer- vessels had dropped anchor in its harbour; the residents had profited on pirates spending their booty here. These times were gone, thanks to Sir Henry Morgan who had immediately gone hunting his former pirate friends as soon as he had been knighted and established as lieutenant governor of Port Royal. Now the plantation owners were the big shots and you could see more and more slavers in the harbour. There were slave auctions in the market and I shivered at the sight of maltreated black men and women gathered on a stage and sold like cattle. If I'd had the money I would have bought all of them to set them free, but unfortunately the only coins in my pockets were two shillings.

"Damned! Stay close to me," Jack grabbed my arm and dragged me along with him, "this bloody city is swarm teeming with press gangs and soldiers, and I don't wanna lose ye to them, savvy?"

Did he fear of losing his future first mate, the one Pearl had chosen, or did he really care for me? Suddenly he stopped and I bumped into him; I think he probably asked himself if I'd ever be of any use.

"Alright, that's what we'll do- I distract him, ye snatch his hat, and then we both run."

It sounded like an easy but very stupid plan. Hadn't he just told me this town was teeming with soldiers? Did he want to test my courage? Well, I didn't mind to prove that I wasn't a coward but not for a hat I didn't really need. I wanted to stop him but it was already too late; Jack was heading straight towards Sir Henry Morgan, his arms opened wide in a welcoming gesture.

"My, if that isn't me good ol' friend Henry!" He shouted jovial as he hugged the famous man who didn't know what the hell was happening and tried to push Jack away. During his attempt to free himself from the madman's embrace he lost his hat, which I picked up, but instead of running I waited to see what Jack was doing. Apparently he had chosen to provoke Morgan. "…Admiral Henry Morgan- what was the name of the ship ye blew while dining with yer friends? Ah, the _Oxford_. Heard ye managed to sink the _Jamaica Merchant_ as well on yer way back from England, aye? Ye really have a rare talent with that. I remember there were at least two or three other vessels ye sank 'cause yer such a lousy navigator… and," the daft fool actually patted Morgan's belly, "…ye've grown kinda fat since last time it met ye, on our li'le raid o' Panama."

Now the scales fell from his eyes and Morgan recognised Jack although it had been five years since the raid of Panama and Jack couldn't have been more than a simple hand before the mast then. Nevertheless he must have left some impression on Morgan, even if it was just for his boldness.

"Sparrow, ye annoying little mite," he barked not all too affectionately but Jack immediately cut him off.

"Captain. It's Captain Jack Sparrow now."

I stood next to them and rolled my eyes as Jack almost drove the famous Sir Henry Morgan mad with repeating old accusations that nearly sounded like a curse. He threatened the lieutenant governor of Port Royal, mocked him until he turned crimson with rage and shouted for his soldiers. I had to stop him so I picked the next thing available.

"Hold the pi"

I guess he wanted to say pirate but a slap with the tail fin of a sword fish silenced him. Oh my God, had I really just slapped Sir Henry Morgan with a sword fish? A not all too fresh sword fish I might add given the bad smell and that I merely held the sword of the fish in my hand after having flung it at the famous privateer. Great, at least I could try and defend us with a sword fish's sword now that soldiers came running in our direction while Jack keeled over helplessly with laughter. Resolutely cramming Morgan's hat on my head I got hold of Jack and- trying to impress the approaching soldiers with my serrated sword- forced him to take leave. It didn't take long until he was back to his senses again. By then we had stumbled into a fruit stall, crashed it, and fended off our pursuers by throwing fruit at them. Pineapples were not only tasty but very effective when colliding with a soldier's head though melons were better. But what really knocked out a man were coconuts- it's interesting how much you could learn about Caribbean fruit in such a short time. This was pure, utter madness and it turned even more mad when the stall owners used the opportunity to vent long bottled up animosities between each other before they decided to direct their rage at the authorities that pestered them with high taxes. In the midst of the mess we caused Jack and I managed to escape, scurrying through small cobbled alleys until we collapsed against a wall, panting but laughing out loud.

"That was priceless… slappin' Morgan with a fish," Jack laughed even more when he noticed the strange sword I was still carrying. "I guess it's time to get ye a decent sword. Ye're too old for toys like that."

"Oh no, don't ye think we had enough of getting me something for today?"

"Mate, I'm just trying to be generous…"

"Here's to hoping yer generosity won't get us killed."

He shrugged off my objections. "Nah, this time we'll pay for it. A good sword should be the extension of yer arm, ye need to have a feeling for it therefore we'll go to buy ye a sword, savvy?"

I reached into my pocket and then opened my hand with the two shillings in front of his eyes. "That's hardly enough to buy a sword, eh?"

His long fingers danced over my palm as if he wanted to grab the coins but withstood the temptation. "It would be enough to buy us a drink though- if ye're willing to share."

"Sure."

Jack flashed me a warm smile. "Ah, that's what I call a friend- sharin' yer last coins with me."

He flung an arm around my shoulder and led me through the maze of alleys to a tavern called the Sign of Bacchus. I really could use a drink now; my throat was dry, I was sweaty, and still not accustomed to hasty escapes under a bright, hot Caribbean sun. And thinking of hasty escapes I wasn't even sure whether it was a good idea to have a drink in a tavern of a town that was teeming with soldiers which were probably eager to catch the man that had offended Sir Henry Morgan. Mayhap we should better return to the Pearl. Jack, however, didn't want to hear of that. At least he directed me to a table in a darker corner of the tavern before he ordered drinks while flirting with the barmaid. Man, he had nerves.

Jack returned with two big mugs of beer; considering the heat and my thirst that was a wise decision. He took a good swig and, licking his lips, reached into his pocket to place a purse on the table. Needless to say that it most definitely wasn't his own.

"Since ye were willing to share with me I'm willing to share with ye," he said nonchalantly and began piling two heaps of coins, "everything should be an equal share between us, aye?"

I merely nodded. It wasn't the amount of money that rendered me speechless- though it was probably more than I had earned at the docks in a year- but the gesture itself.

"Where did ye," I bit my tongue. Wrong question. Of course he had stolen it. In my mind's eye I saw him embracing the famous privateer again so I asked, "Morgan's?"

"Aye. I would **never **hug him if there's no profit in it for me."

"Do I hear loathing in yer voice? What had he done to ye?"

"Panama."

"So ye really sailed under him in that raid?" I shouldn't sound so surprised since Peg-leg Pat had already told me but I hadn't wanted to believe him. I placed my hand over Jack's. "That must have been horrible given all the things I've heard about it. No boy"

"'Twas worse. As for the boys- well, he liked to have some around. Any port in a storm, if ye know what I mean. Lucky me that I was always quicker than the others. Never laid his filthy fingers on me though he would have liked to since I was also prettier than the others."

"Ye mean he," I didn't finish my sentence because it was obvious what he meant.

That moment the door flew open and a lad came running into the tavern, looking frantically around before scooting in our direction and crawling under our table. I wanted to look at what he was doing there but Jack stopped me just in time because that would only have given the lad away to a group of soldiers which now entered the tavern.

"We're looking for a criminal, a young thief and troublemaker," an officer announced.

The folks that crowded the tavern took notice of his words but didn't offer any help in finding the lad, and the barmaid just pointed unceremoniously to the back door. The officer detailed two of his man to look there while the others searched the tavern, asking every patron about the boy. I broke out in sweat when one of the soldiers came to out table. Jack told him he'd be much obliged if he could be of any help but unfortunately he hadn't seen a young thief and troublemaker; he could lie without batting an eye. The soldier seemed to be satisfied with his answer and gave a report to his officer, then they were about to leave the tavern.

Jack reached out under the table, his hands searching for the lad. Suddenly he jerked back with an '_Ouch_!' and rubbed his right hand. "No need to bite me, mite. The coast is clear."

"Sorry Sir," a light brown tousle-head emerged from under the table, big blue eyes focussed on Jack, "I thought… anyways thanks for not givin' me"

"Shh- stay down." I cut him off since I had noticed that the soldier who had been investigating at our table was still talking to his officer while occasionally pointing in our direction. Jack and I had stirred so much chaos at the market earlier on that it was unlikely the authorities here had forgotten our faces by now, and while I considered myself as a not very flashy in appearance, Jack definitely was. You saw him once and would never forget him. We exchanged glances.

"Seize these two men!" The officer shouted all of a sudden. "They have offended and robbed His Lordship Sir Morgan!"

The lad wanted to steal himself away but Jack got a hold of him. "Ye stay where it's safe. At me side that is."

He drew his sword and fended off the first attacking soldier with a quick blow while I felt a bit clumsy with the sword fish's sword in my hands. I gave it to the lad and armed myself with a chair instead. Fortunately I had experience in tavern bawls so I knew what to do. Soon everyone in the room engaged in fighting each other but no one in particular which gave us time to scamper through the back door. But the soldiers were not that easy to be cheated and hard on our heels.

Jack suggested that we should part in order to distract them. I didn't want to. I didn't want to leave him alone, not after all we've already gone through today. He pointed out that I didn't have a proper weapon to defend myself now that there weren't any chairs available and that I couldn't always rely on fishes, especially not when facing the sword of a soldier.

"Run to the Pearl and wait there for me, savvy? I'll be back as soon as possible. Trust me."

He had made a point- I couldn't defend myself and that meant I couldn't defend him if necessary, so I'd only be in the way. Even if I had a sword I wouldn't know how to use it. Well, probably it wasn't that difficult to handle it in a slash and hack way but when I saw Jack wielding his sword I wasn't sure about it anymore.

"Damned, Bill, run!"

We managed to escape a little further before the soldiers caught up again, and this time we seemed to be trapped in a dead end alley. Jack turned to me, very serious now. "Ye go over that roof and head for the Pearl and wait there for me, captain's order. The little mite and me,"

"John, Sir. Me name's John."

Jack ruffled his hair, "Alright Johnny-boy, we'll climb through that window. There'll be a some women screaming when they see us but that's what women usually do, so don't worry." He directed his attention towards me again. "See, nothing's to worry about, mate. Just do as ye're told."

I sighed. So I had been given an order I couldn't object to without questioning Jack's position and he was my captain after all. I almost envied the lad, John, because he was allowed to stay with Jack while I wasn't. I ruffled his hair like Jack had done before. "Take care o' him, son."

The soldiers were approaching fast.

"Run. Now."

I did; I climbed up the roof but before I lost sight of Jack I saw him waving at me, shouting, "Ye know, that hat looks so much better on ye!"

I paced the deck for the thousandth time, checking the hour glass every minute or so ever since I had returned to the Black Pearl. I shouldn't have left him alone in Port Royal… but Pearl told me not to worry. Well, actually she didn't tell me since it wasn't communicating in a way of talking she did but rather… transmit emotions. Call me daft but this ship cared about Jack, _she_ had accepted him being her captain, and when _she _told me not to worry I shouldn't worry. But why did it take so fucking long for him to return, eh? _She_ didn't answer but tried to sooth me, singing me a lullaby of creaking planks…

…thud… thud…the characteristic sound of Peg-leg Pat approaching me. I looked up to meet his eyes.

"Don't worry 'bout him 'cause he wouldn't if he was in yer place. Besides, he always gets by. He's good in that."

I wished I could believe him. Nervously I looked to the shore when suddenly I saw two people running towards the Pearl, being followed by perhaps two dozen soldiers on horseback. They would catch up with Jack and the lad before they could reach us, but I would not let that happen. I would **not** let them catch Jack.

"Peg, give orders to load and run out the starboard cannons."

"Yer mad! D'ye wanna fire a broadside at the soldiers?" He gasped.

"No, I just wanna fire one cannon to scare the horses."

Peg-leg arched a surprised brow at me. "Aye, that could work."

With grim determination I gave order to fire. Fortunately my plan worked. The horses went wild with panic, some threw off their riders while others were scooting off in all different directions. The few soldiers that had still set their minds on seizing Jack changed their mind when they looked in the openings of our cannons, so Jack could safely board the Pearl. He almost collapsed in my arms, panting, gasping for breath.

"Well done… mate… juss remind me… next time… not to anchor… so far away… savvy?"

"Ye said it's not safe to anchor closer to Port Royal." I reminded him gently .

"Is that so?" He asked groggily but then he noticed that his crew was watching him and that it probably wasn't appropriable for a pirate captain to cling to me the way he did, so he straightened himself. "Alright ye scabrous dogs what are ye waitin' for? Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! Peg- I want ye to take care of Johnny here, he's our new ship's boy."

11


	6. 5 Not related brothers

5- Not related brothers

I was up early this morning; it had become a habit of mine to watch the sunrise. I liked the serene atmosphere aboard when the ship was still asleep except for the few men at watch, and the only sound was the creaking of the planks or the splashing of the waves, caressing murmuring the Pearl's hull. Sometimes Jack joined me and we sat together in silence either on the rail or up in the crow's nest, enjoying the beauty of a new day dawning.

Today, however, the morning wasn't that peaceful. After a successful raid we lay at anchor in the harbour of Tortuga and the noises from ashore were carried over by the wind. A rooster crowed, dogs barked, drunken sailors bawled dissonant tunes- a shot from a gun rang. The ringing of church bells that followed sounded totally out of place in a pirate's haven.

I thought I was alone on deck until I heard a thump against the hull and saw a hand clasping the rail. Jack came clambering onto deck, dripping wet, shaking out his long hair and sending shimmering water drops patting on the dark boards. Since he wasn't only soaking wet but also stark naked I quickly turned my eyes from him, pretending not to notice him. Pirate or not, you simply don't stare at your naked captain.

"Hey Bill!" He called cheerfully as he walked up to me, apparently not caring about his nudity as if that was the most natural thing in the world. Well it actually was given that we were born naked but at least he could have shown a bit more decency. No, not Jack. In the past four months I was sailing with him he had often enough proven that he didn't care about common moral standards- if only he would have spared me the embarrassment of having to face him now.

"Jack!" I feigned surprise and turned around, carefully not to look straight at him. "Ye might want me to fetch ye a towel…"

"No need for that, the sun can dry me." Jack leant against the main mast, dreamily closing his eyes, sunning himself. "Beautiful mornin', ain't it?"

I cast a surreptitious glance at him; he really was a handsome devil. Well proportioned but not overly athletic, more of a slender shape with lean, firm muscle cords under bronze tanned Caribbean skin. The way he leant against the mast now, relaxed, naked, his long hair hanging down over his shoulders, still dripping glinting pearls of water on his body, bare of all the things he usually disguised himself with- like his odd way of dressing or the black shades of khol rimming his eyes- he looked very young, even boyish in his careless way. Much younger than he was, almost vulnerable.

His eyes flickered open, sparkling with mischief as he flashed me one of his golden smiles. "C'mon mate, let's go swimming. There's no better way to cure a hangover than to dive headfirst into the loving embrace o' the sea."

Jack scampered to the rail but I didn't move. Since I had stayed aboard last night and not joined the usual piraty debauchery I definitely felt no need to throw myself into unknown depths- besides, I couldn't even swim.

"What're ye waitin' for?"

No, I would **not** tell him that I couldn't swim. I would not add another thing to the list of things I wasn't capable of. Jack had already taught me everything a halfway good sailor needed to know about ships, wind and sea, of navigation and plotting a course, so I most certainly didn't want to overstrain his patience with me.

"Bill!" He stood on the rail, one hand in the shrouds, and while looking at me he instantly figured out my dilemma. "Oh no, don't tell me ye can't swim…"

I preferred to remain silent.

Jack shrugged. "No matter, I'll show ye. It's quite easy actually. All ye gotta do is to avoid drowning."

Smart ass. This much I already knew given that this was the point of learning to swim- to not drown. However, in my previous life I had never foreseen the opportunity of drowning; damned, I had grown up in London, in one of the most civilized, eighteenth century cities and I had intended to live there 'til the end of my times. I had wanted to study medicine when there was still time to dream until my dreams had gone up in the ashes of the big London fire…

My thoughts were interrupted when Jack asked for my assistance in letting down one of the Pearl's longboats- at least he had put on his breeches meanwhile. I helped him, wondering what he was up to. After adjusting the mast and hoisting the single sail he steered us to a small, snow-white beach lined with coconut palms; it was a beautiful place. The waters here were shallow and shimmering in greenish turquoise shades. Nevertheless I was well aware that I was all alone with my captain who had stripped again, and apparently he wanted me to do the same. He saw me hesitate.

"Don't fret. I swear ye'll enjoy it."

Then he walked into the sea, diving under, and I felt like a fool for having thought he might have intended something else. After all, he was the king of ambiguous, lewd remarks.

Jack emerged just in time to watch me undress. I felt the urge to cover my private parts but I resisted because he would have only laughed at me and called me prudish. Well, maybe I was.

"At least now I know ye're not an eunuch… I was wondering though, why such a healthy, good-looking fellow as ye are is not interested in accepting the offers of certain ladies… ye're not," fluttering with his fingers he was looking for the right word, frowning at me,"…sailing against the wind, are ye?"

"No, I'm not. Definitely not." I almost snickered. It was funny to see him instinctively backing away, worrying about the same things as I had just a moment earlier.

"Oh, that's good, ain't it?" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Now that that is cleared we can concentrate on swimming."

The water was warm and yet pleasantly refreshing- if I didn't swallow it, which happened quite a few times in the first hour of my swimming lesson. Then, after I had stopped panicking that I would drown and realizing that I couldn't drown because the sea wasn't deep enough, I began to enjoy it. Of course my movements looked rather clumsy compared to Jack, who could swim like a fish, but he seemed to be contented with the progresses I made. Drifting on his back, paddling languidly with his hands he told me I was leaning fast and that made me proud.

"I have a good teacher," I replied.

He flashed me a smile, still drifting comfortably in the clear water. You could see to the ground here, and I saw swarms of fishes, shimmering silvery in the sunlight, scurrying away in all different directions when they took notice of us.

"I do wonder though why ye're so keen on teaching me how to swim?"

"'Cause I don't want ye to drown."

"Aye, good point." I quipped while turning on my back and imitating Jack's paddling with the hands. I was surprised of the way the water seemed to carry me. "But isn't it supposed to be bad luck for a sailor being able to swim, like preparing for shipwreck?"

"Bloody nonsense. That's just superstition invented by the church and fed by the bloody navy. First, the church was opposed to swimming 'cause they think it's indecent which suited the navy well given that sailors who can't swim are less likely to desert. I, however, prefer to be prepared in case the worst should happen…" Jack smirked at me, "…and ye should always be aware of uncanny creatures lurking in the depths of the ocean, like lecherous mermaids or giant octopuses, just waiting for ye to drag ye down into dark, deep oblivion."

I laughed, thinking he was spinning a yarn, until I felt a slight tug at my leg and immediately the image of a hungry octopus popped up in my mind's eye. I panicked; I kicked and struggled in a frantic attempt to get free of what I thought were tentacles before I realized that it was merely Jack's wicked humour. I wanted to hit him hard for playing practical jokes on me but then we ended up like two silly boys splashing water at each other and enjoying life to the fullest.

Later, when we were sitting at the beach, drinking fresh coconut juice, I noticed that never before Jack had been so utterly carefree as he was today. It seemed to me that all the troubles, the responsibility of being a much too young pirate captain, had fallen off him and that he actually regained some of the childhood he'd never had. Then I thought of Will and hoped he would grow up happy although there was little I could do about it. Damned, I didn't even know if my family was alright, whether they had enough to eat. Mayhap Claire had to work at the 'Harp and Whistle' all night to make their living while I was in the Caribbean having fun. I should support them. I should at least let them know I was still alive.

I winced when I felt Jack's hand on my shoulder; I hadn't even noticed I had gotten up and was staring over the sea, at a distant horizon.

"Tell me, mate, is London such a better place to be?" He asked casually as he pulled our boat in the water, ready to sail back to the Pearl.

Great, not only was my mood spoiled but I had also managed to spoil his.

"No, it's not." I thought about it and added, "Actually it's quite a dirty place if ye don't live in the better parts of the town; it's cold and grey with lots of rain and sleet in the winter- let alone the typical London fog- and in the summer the air is stuffy. No, Jack, I certainly don't miss the place but I have family there, I have obligations. There is a reason why I don't spend my money on whores. I do have needs too but it doesn't seem right to me to go whoring when I don't even know if they have enough money to afford a warm meal, or if Will has a pair of shoes for the winter."

Apparently indifferent, Jack said, "Let's go back to the Pearl."

I decided not to bother him with my family anymore since he didn't seem to be interested anyway. I was wrong. Jack was an unpredictable man. When I believed he only went ashore to continue with typical pirate-style debauchery he surprised me the moment he returned, ordering me to his cabin.

"The _Mary-Anne_ is leaving for England in the morrow. I happen to know her captain; he's a trustworthy fellow. A good smuggler disguised as honest merchant. He'll see to it that yer letter is delivered to Claire provided that ye finally start writing said letter. It's also safe to send them money."

I stared at him with my mouth wide open but at a loss of words. Jack put some sheets of paper on the table and sat down, brooding over his charts. I took a seat opposite of him, carefully smoothing one of the empty, white sheets. Where should I start? I wanted to tell Claire that I missed her badly but when I considered it thoroughly I didn't. So I started the letter with a polite lie. I asked approximately a dozen questions about Will before I began to describe my life aboard the _Glorious _so that she would understand my reasons for deserting. After all, being a deserter meant that I would not be able to return to England.

"No. No, don't write ye became a pirate!"

I should have known that Jack would be looking over my shoulder sooner or later, reading what I had been writing. I shot him a defiant glance. "But it's the truth."

"Truth…" he made an impatient gesture as if shooing away an annoying insect, "…what exactly is truth? One thing can be seen from various perspectives and all of them are true, it's just a matter of different interpretation. For instance, ye say the sea is blue an' I say she's green while someone else claims looks grey. We're all telling the truth 'cause the sea's just like that, multicoloured. She's blue when ye look at the horizon, green in a sandy bay and grey when a storm's brewing. Of course it would be easy to say we're pirates 'cause that's what we are but I swear, a married woman won't like to hear that her husband is engaging in piracy. So ye have to think of something else to tell her which is also the truth but from a different perspective. What do we do?"

"We pilfer and plunder other ships."

Jack rolled his eyes and corrected me. "We outwit merchant sailors and take their load, aye. What do we do then?"

"Spend the booty in port like Tortuga, drinking and whoring."

"No. Ye're wrong with that although ye're right. Try to look at it more profoundly, dear William. Most of the booty we sell again at local markets, so actually we're merchants. But unlike the British, Spanish or whatever merchants we do not exploit the people here, instead we're increasing the local economy by… well, drinking and whoring. It's just a redistribution of riches."

"Ah… and I almost thought we were the bad guys," I said, absolutely puzzled by Jack's logic.

He flashed me one of his trademark golden smiles. "Some people might claim that but as I told ye, it's just a matter of perspective. Write ye're a merchant sailor- that'll sit better with Claire. Besides," Jack patted my shoulder, "leave the part where ye're telling her yer new captain's a good man. Sounds fine."

-

"Sail ho!"

Jack left the helm to me and hurried to the main shrouds, climbing up the ratlines with a telescope in his hand. He scanned the horizon, apparently satisfied with what he saw because the smile on his face was getting broader. There seemed to be booty ahead.

We had been sailing the windward passage for days without making any remarkable raid before we had made our way into the Atlantic ocean, waiting for ships heading to the Bahamas, and the mood aboard the Black Pearl had been wearing thinner with each day. But fortunately the vessel we just had spotted looked like easy prey. She was a two-masted merchant with only eight small guns, most likely four-pounders, and she was rolling heavily in the waves. Seizing her should be no problem given the speed of the Pearl and the number of her guns, although Captain Jack Sparrow rarely made use of her guns. He preferred to outrun, outmanoeuvre and outwit other ships, board them and talk their crew into surrendering without much bloodshed. Mind, he wasn't scared of a fight, actually he enjoyed crossing blades with someone but just for the fun of not fighting fair and cheating; he wasn't keen on killing. If possible he avoided the messy part.

The British merchant _Pride _surrendered as soon as she saw the Pearl approaching her, all canvas braced, her guns ran out. I'm sure she must have looked beautifully threatening. Jack led the boarding-party and as usual he told me to stay aboard the Pearl with Peg-leg Pat and Johnny, the ship's boy.

I watched him leaving, suddenly feeling ill at ease without getting a finger on what was worrying me. Perhaps it was that the _Pride_ had surrendered far too easily, she hadn't even tried to escape. Then I saw a group of naval soldiers popping up on deck and knew why. They hoped they could win the fight, and they were indeed offering persistent resistance against the pirates that had just boarded. Damned, did Jack really expect me to sit back and watch him trying to fight off three redcoats attacking him? I just **had** to help him.

Did I mention I wasn't experienced in sword-fighting? Jack knew that, therefore he had told me to stay aboard the Pearl, but I seemed to have forgotten. I grabbed a cutlass and scurried over to the _Pride. _

It was a mistake. A fight between pirates and naval soldiers was not like a tavern bawl; I learned that when I ran my blade through the redcoat who made an attempt to stab Jack in the back. I felt the blade cut through human flesh, I saw blood splashing from the wound like a fountain until my hands were smeared with his blood. Disgusted I let go of the cutlass, utterly shocked. A wave of nausea was flowing through my insides as the man dropped dead on the planks, blood streaming out of his mouth. I had never killed before, and that shook me to the bone. Knowing that I had saved Jack's life was little comfort because I merely wanted to puke.

"Bill! Watch out!"

I turned to Jack and this movement probably saved my life. I felt something hitting my ribs, then Jack attacked the man who had launched himself at me and he swung his sword to parry the pirate's stroke. His sword was bloody. I couldn't withhold the urge to puke any longer so I threw up. My legs were shaky, blood was dripping on the planks. Suddenly Jack stared at me with eyes wide open, whispering my name before he unceremoniously finished off with the soldier and hurried at my side.

"Damned, Bill. I told ye not to do anything stupid." Why was his voice so full of concern?

"I'm fine." I wiped my mouth, feeling embarrassed that once again I had proven unworthy to be a pirate if seeing blood made me feel so sick. "I'm just not used to kill…"

"'Course not." Jack rebuked me gently, wrapping an arm around my waist to steady me. Until then I hadn't even realized that I was in need of being steadied but my legs were so shaky and the left one refused to carry me any longer. It felt wet. Instinctively I stretched out my hand to touch it. I looked at my fingers, they were bloodstained. It took me a moment to notice that it was my own blood, warm and sticky. Then the pain hit me, totally unprepared. I saw white lights dancing in front of my eyes and clung to Jack, biting my lips to not cry out.

I have no memory how we got back to the Black Pearl, the next thing I remembered is lying in Jack's bed and hearing him having a heated discussion with Peg-leg Pat, concerning my leg.

"No way!" Jack snapped angrily. "Ye're not gonna cut off his leg just because a wound like this **could** lead to gangrene. He's not gonna lose his leg just for trying to save my life."

"It would be the easiest way to save his life."

"Ye're not a doctor!"

"Damned right, lad…"

"Captain!" There was a sound as if Jack had thrown the elder man against the wall. "Don't ye ever dare to call me lad again!"

"However, _Captain_ Sparrow, may I politely remind ye that ye've failed to sign up a proper ship's doc, so I'm the only one near who has at least a bit of medical knowledge given that I cared for the wounded long before ye were born."

"There ye're wrong, Peg. The future personal physician of the Governor of Nassau is aboard the _Pride_ and I'm gonna make him sign up with me, savvy?"

No, don't go, I thought desperately as I made an attempt to call Jack but merely a hoarse whisper came over my lips. He wouldn't have heard it at all if not for Johnny who was sitting next to me.

"He's awake!" The lad shouted excitedly. I didn't share his enthusiasm about being awake since that only meant living through throbbing hazes of pain. I thought I'd die. But I had to talk to Jack before.

He came to me immediately and, shooing Johnny away, took my hand in his. "Don't worry, Bill. Ev'rything's gonna be fine, ye'll see…"

I cut him off although it took me a great deal of effort to speak. "Jack, if I die…"

"Ye won't! I won't allow that!"

"Please listen…" I squeezed his hand as tightly as I was capable of to get his attention, "…my family… Claire, Will… promise me…"

Ever so gently he stoked my cheek; I could have wept. His fingers felt pleasantly cool against my heated skin. "I promise whatever ye want if that makes ye feel better but ye're **not** gonna die. Savvy? Hey, mate, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Now, that'll definitely save his life." I heard Peg-leg Pat sneer, and then I blacked out again. It took me twenty years until I found out what happened after that.

_Jack stared at Peg as if he would like to throttle him, the animosities between them were almost visibly up in the air. He rose from the bed slowly and walked up to the pirate who believed himself to be first mate of the Black Pearl._

_"Ye're sacked," he told him coolly before calling for two pirates he trusted more than the old salt, "Matthews! Keep an eye on ol' Peg-leg just in case he's about to do anything stupid. Blake! Ye'll accompany me to the _Pride_. I need to persuade the future personal physician of the Governor of Nassau to join me crew."_

_"Aye, Captain!"_

_No protest, that was a good sign for a change. Jack was glad he didn't have to justify his actions because that wouldn't be easy to explain. After all, they were pirates. As a pirate captain he had to see to it that they captured booty and the crew got their share, if he failed they might want to chose another leader. Taking a medical man hostage for no other reasons than to save a friend was not written in the Code. However, they could still ask for ransom when Bill was feeling better but first things first._

_The deck of the _Pride_ was still covered with blood- they should have surrendered without a fight, Jack thought. Fortunately, most of the casualties were either soldiers or sailors of the merchant vessel while he had only lost one crewmember. He hoped his men would consider that when they were wondering about his odd ways. _

_Jack grabbed the first person that came his way and pressed a dagger at his throat. "Alright now, listen to me gents. I'm here to find a fellow by the name of Doctor Thomas Abernathy and I suggest ye not stash him somewhere or this bloke," Threateningly he pressed his dagger into the skin of his hostage until a few drops of blood were showing to underline his words, "will die. Of course he won't be the last to die. Mr Blake!"_

_Blake stepped to his captain's side and revealed a couple of pistols stuffed in his sash. With an evil grin he fired one of them, though no one got injured._

_"Stop that, for Christ's sake," a man hissed violently at Jack as he walked closer to the pirate, showing no fear but a great deal of contempt. "What do you want of me, pirate?"_

_"Doc Abernathy, I guess. Pleased to meet ye." Totally unimpressed by the doctor's hatefully sparkling eyes Jack sketched a bow at him. "Please be so kind as to accompany me back to the Black Pearl, 'cause there's work waitin' for ye."_

_Abernathy shot him a scornful glance. "Though I made a vow to save lives I'm not sure that that includes ruthless pirates."_

_"Very well, but being a ruthless pirate I'm not inclined to give a damn about yer reservations. Ye'll do what I tell ye or everyone aboard will die."_

_"Kill me if you want to but spare the others."_

_"Aye. Great idea," Jack rolled his eyes, "but unfortunately that's not the point. I have absolutely no intention to kill ye, it's yer skills I'm interested in. Now get all the stuff ye need and hurry, we don't have all day."_

_Minutes later, Doctor Abernathy was aboard the Black Pearl, examining Bill's wounds. "He was lucky. The stoke that was most likely aimed to run him through hit his ribs; it's not a serious wound. Then his attacker must have whirled his sword in an downward circle before raising it in a parade, thus the nasty gash in the leg is to be explained. Interesting. Very interesting. Perhaps it would be better to amputate the leg though…"_

_"Oh no, ye're not gonna tell me the same shit that Peg the quack told me. Are ye an able-bodied physician or are ye not?" Jack growled._

_"I am. I have studied in…"_

_"Is it because he's a pirate ye're not willin' to give yer best? Would it be different if he was a fine nobleman?"_

_"A nobleman would not be living on a dirty pirate ship," Abernathy said snobbish but then he looked around and changed his mind. The spacious cabin didn't look as dirty as he had expected so perhaps his patient would have a chance to keep his leg._

_Jack got impatient. "Save him, or…"_

_"Or you will kill me? Honestly, since you have already ruled out that option I do wonder if there is anything else you can threaten me with."_

_Jack grabbed the doctor by the collar and pierced his earlobe with his dagger. Abernathy screamed, but Jack just smirked ruthlessly. "Pirate."_

_"You are utterly mad."_

_"Yep, that's what people keep telling me. Now do yer bloody job or I swear I'll find more parts of yer body that are not essential for staying alive but painful to lose. The sharks are hungry, mate. So if ye don't wanna find out what a eunuch's life's like ye better do as ye're told."_

_Abernathy shot him a fearful glance, noticing that the pirate wasn't just mad but also a very dangerous man; his willingness to cooperate seemed to increase. He asked for hot water._

_"I have to clean his wound and this will be a painful procedure, so try to make him swallow a few spoonfuls of Laudanum." He opened his medicine bag and handed Jack a little, green bottle, but then he frowned. "For Christ's sake wash your fingers! Thoroughly."_

_"I'm not sure I like yer tone." Jack grumbled, nevertheless he obeyed. It was much harder though to watch his friend writhe with pain when the doctor started to clean his wound. "Damned, be gentle!"_

_"Perhaps you might feel better if you wait outside," Abernathy suggested, fearing another unpredictable attack of the mad pirate._

_"No. I don't trust ye and Bill needs me, so go on."_

_"Well, I hope you do recognize that I will have to cause him pain by stitching him up." If there was one thing the doctor disliked more than pirates then it was dealing with hysteric relatives of patients while having to concentrate on his work. He glanced at Jack. "You seem to like him a lot- or do you usually threaten innocents for any member of your crew?"_

_Jack shook his head. "Only when necessary."_

_"Ah." Abernathy picked up a needle, wondering aloud, "So what is he for you? Is he your lover?"_

_Jack tsked. "He's my brother." _

_"Strange, you don't look much alike."_

_"That may be 'cause we had different fathers- oh, and different mothers. But that doesn't change the fact that he's me brother in heart. And now stop babbling. Stitch him up."_

_Abernathy was mildly confused. The same ruthless pirate who had threatened to maim him only a short while ago had suddenly turned into a caring man when it came to soothing his friend, gently holding him down stitch after stitch. Also, said pirate had been right about his refusal considering an amputation, given that the wound had looked worse than it actually was. Probably it would heal without complications- Abernathy prayed that would be the case because he really wasn't keen on losing any parts of his body, and he didn't doubt the pirate had been dead serious about the hungry sharks._

I was drifting languidly through the beautifully drugged world of opium dreams for a long time, not wanting to return to the cruel, painful reality; I wanted to leave that behind. Forever. Where I was there was light, a bright, sparkling light… it called me. I saw my father waving at me… a quick series of pictures and faces whirled in front of my mind's eyes, memories of my past mingled with recent events until they all became blurred visions and I stood at an abyss. Only one more step… I couldn't do it… the time wasn't right…

When I finally woke up again, quite reluctant I might say, the first thing I saw was Jack staring at me, his eyes dark with worry.

"Just popped by to see how ye're doing," he said casually, "but since ye're awake ye can as well listen. Turner, if ye ever dare to do something that **stupid** again I swear I'll be the one killing ye, do I make meself unmistakablyclear?"

I nodded groggily, taking in my surroundings. Apparently I was in Jack's cabin, lying in his bed.

"Remember that I told ye to stay aboard the Pearl? So which part of stay aboard the Pearl ye didn't understand? Damned that was a Captain's order! Next time ye chose to disobey me orders I'll beat some sense into yer useless brain or flog ye 'til the skin's ripped off yer back. Ye're absolutely not worth all the trouble I had just because of ye. There, drink this!"

Helping me up he shoved a mug into my hands and fluffed the pillows for me; a caring gesture that belied the curses he muttered. I spilled most of my drink, a cold herbal tee, since I was still weak and my hands were shaking, so he took back the mug, refilled it, and unceremoniously poured its contents down my throat. First I thought he wanted to drown me with herbal tea, calling me too daft to drink properly, but at least he gave me time to swallow.

Gasping for breath I wondered aloud why he cared about me at all if he thought I was just trouble, a nuisance.

Jack shot me an angry glance and poured another mug of tea into me. "Doc Abernathy said ye have to drink a lot."

That made sense given that I really felt dehydrated but that was no answer to my question. And who the hell was Doc Abernathy?

"He was aboard the _Pride_, bound for Nassau where he was to become the personal physician of Governor Henley. Waste of talent, if ye ask me. I figured he'd be deadly bored there, mainly curing the diseases of rich, fat noblemen, so I persuaded him to join me crew for a while and he agreed. Did a good job in stitching ye up."

I remembered the heated argument Jack had with Peg-leg Pat concerning my leg and couldn't help but cast a surreptitious glance at my legs, glad to see I still had two of them.

"I **told** ye ye're **not** gonna die, and that included ye being whole, in one piece." Jack snapped as if I had just doubted that before adding quietly, "Damned, I don't wanna lose ye."

It took me a moment to grasp the meaning of his words. Jack didn't want to lose me. He cared about me. I should have known that because of all the time we had spent together, because he had always sought my company, and yet it took me by surprise. I cleared my throat. "Ye know, Jack, the reason I disobeyed yer order was that I don't wanna lose ye either. Ye can't expect me to sit back and take it easy when I see ye're in danger."

It didn't happen very often that Jack Sparrow was at a loss of words but he was now. At least momentarily. "Well then, am I right to assume ye're gonna disobey me orders continuously in the future when ye think I'm in danger although ye know I'm Captain Jack Sparrow?"

I had just woken up from a long, drugged sleep so I didn't get his logic- mayhap there wasn't any- nevertheless I nodded. "Aye."

"I really don't know what to do with ye. Ye're a hopeless case. Lemme get ye some food first and then I'll rethink working the cat-o'-nine-tails on yer back." With that Jack rose from the bed and left the cabin, leaving me utterly confused.

The soft rocking of the Pearl had almost lulled me asleep again when the door was kicked open with a loud bang and Jack walked in, balancing a bowl of steaming soul in his hands. It smelled delicious. A deep growl of my stomach reminded me that I haven't eaten for quite a while.

Jack looked at me and then at the bowl, apparently wondering how I would manage to eat the soup without spilling it all over the bed like I had done with the tea. It was so embarrassing to be sick and weak. He sat down next to be with a sigh, grumbling.

"This is **not** gonna become a habit, savvy?"

I stared at the spoon approaching my mouth. Green. The broth was green. But before I could protest, Jack had already shovelled it into me and I swallowed it down, surprised that it tasted good despite of the unusual colour. "What's that?"

"Turtle soup. Very nutritious, so stop babbling and eat. Ye have to regain some strength 'cause I have no intentions to keep on feeding ye. I'm not sure if that's appropriate for a pirate captain at all."

And I didn't want to be fed, actually I preferred to be able to eat on my own. Nevertheless, a part of me secretly enjoyed seeing Jack in the unusual role of a nurse, and it was hard to believe that the same man had threatened to flog me only minutes ago.

"By the way, the crew was glad to hear that Bootstrap Bill's back amongst the living."

"Are they?" I gasped surprised between two spoonfuls of turtle broth, musing why they should care about me when suddenly I realized what he had called me. "_Bootstrap_?"

"Aye. Bootstrap Bill. They like ye."

"Why?"

"'Cause ye're a good man, I guess."

"No, I mean where does the name came from? I haven't heard it before."

Jack put down the empty bowl and grinned at me shrewdly. "Well, first it had started as a joke after Peg-leg Pat had thought ye were so clumsy ye'd stumble over yer own bootstraps that first day aboard the Pearl, but then ye proved to be a fast learner so they speak with more respect 'bout ye now. However, it's a good name- good pirate's name."

"At least it's not name that indicates a missing limb, like Peg-leg Pat." I said dryly.

Jack agreed laughing, slapping my shoulder. "Damned right, mate."

"But what's wrong with William Turner?"

"Nothing. It's a good, strong name but definitely not a pirate's name."

I couldn't help but mock him a little bit. "Ah, ye mean it's not as impressive and fearsome as _Sparrow_ is?"

"Well, a sparrow isn't a very fearsome bird but then again ye'll always underestimate those who don't appear fearsome until ye realize they've cheated ye." His face darkened. "Besides, it's me father's name and he was a good man."

I remembered him mentioning his father before and that he hadn't wanted to talk about him, so I didn't know what to do now. I decided to ask about his mother but as it turned out that wasn't a good question either. Silently he wrapped his arms around his knees in an almost defensive gesture that made be believe he'd never answer. Surprisingly he did though.

"Me _mother _was a whore. Mind ye, not a common whore but a well-born English noblewoman who spread her legs for riches and a title, but all she got was an unwanted get she called Jack. Apparently she had mistaken me dad for the heir of an Earldom when in fact he was merely a pirate. She didn't know that though when she followed him to the Caribbean but she must have been really pissed off since there wasn't a fine mansion and a huge plantation waiting for her in Tortuga. So she left me dad while he was at sea. At that point she most likely would have wished to drown me 'cause having a little bastard spoiled her chances on the wedding market…"

"Don't say that!" I gasped, taken aback.

"Ah Bill," Jack sighed, "Ye're such a naïve fool to believe in motherly love. The bitch that gave birth to me was beautiful but heartless. When she married Eugène, a bloody rich French planter, she actually sold me to him as a bond servant… . I won't bore ye with all the things they came up to make me feel like scum… I endured it, knowing that my real father **did** care about me. It had never sat well with him that the woman he had fallen in love with had chosen to marry a noble Frog instead, but he wouldn't let them have his son. He promised to take me away from there and he kept his promise. He came in the dead of night and we ran through the jungle to the beach where a little boat was moored… he made me board it and then…" He fell silent, nibbling at his lower lip before continuing in a much lower voice, "Eugène had followed us. He shot Dad before he could join me…"

Jack shrugged, apparently indifferent but I knew he was merely playing it down, trying not to show any emotions. I, however, was utterly shocked. "Ye had to watch yer own father die, shot dead?"

He just nodded unceremoniously, but I thought that nothing crueller could happen to a young boy than having to see his father being insidiously murdered. I felt sorry for him. There was this wonderfully bright, intelligent lad who had achieved everything in his young life others only dared to dream of. At the age of twenty he already was a pirate captain with his own ship and a reputation, and yet, emotionally, he was an abandoned little boy who desperately longed to be loved.

"Come here," I said, opening my arms for him.

Jack shot me a suspicious glance. "I'm sure ye'd rather be in London now, with yer family."

Did I? I wasn't that sure. First I couldn't return even if I wanted but I didn't remind Jack of that because it didn't matter anyway. I just had to think of London, of grey skies, rain and fog, of dirty streets and claustrophobic small alleys, of slaving away at the docks to earn a poor living. It had been a dull life. Of course I missed Claire and Will, but I'd miss the colours of the Caribbean more. To feel the wind on my face, eating stolen pineapples, going swimming in crystal clear waters- but most of all I'd miss Jack, the friend he had became to me.

"I'm fine where I am."

Hesitantly he curled up at my side, very tense at first but then he relaxed more and more as I held him close like a little brother. When I told him he chuckled, claiming that he seemed to be the big brother given that he was the one doing all the teaching. I made a point to correct him, ruffling his hair.

"That only proves ye're a little smart ass. I'm older, taller, and stronger. Savvy?"

"I really don't know what to do with ye, Bill. I'm sure all this cuddling isn't appropriate for a pirate captain." However, appropriate or not, he fell asleep in my arms.


	7. 6 An ordinary training bout

6- An ordinary training bout

"Watch yer footwork!" Jack yelled at me as he attacked me with his sword. I raised my blade in order to parry but his stroke was too heavy and my hands too sweaty, so my sword fell to the deck with a rattling sound.

"Damned! And don't drop yer sword!" The tip of his blade was at my throat, tickling me. "Ye know, it's pretty useless on the planks. D'ye have any idea just how many times I could've killed ye within the past few minutes?"

"No, but I'm damned sure ye kept an account of me failures and can't wait to rub me nose in them." I snapped frustrated.

Ever since I had been able to get up and stand on my own two feet again, Jack had pestered me with endless training bouts. First it had been a welcome change after lying in bed, recovering, and some exercise had definitely been needed, but lately he had become almost obsessive to give me a good beating since that was how it usually ended. Though we practised with blunt weapons, my body was covered with bruises in every shade ranging from deep purple to a yellowish green. I wondered why he had made such an effort to save my life only to beat me black and blue afterwards. And what was worse, the crew already pitied me... Bootstrap Bill Turner who was so clumsy he'd stumble over his own bootstraps… that was so embarrassing. Would I ever be able to prove I was worth my salt?

"Stop pouting and pick up yer blade; I'm not done with ye yet." Jack snarled mercilessly. He was every inch the rough pirate captain now and not at all like the young lad longing for affection who had fallen asleep in my arms a while ago, shaken after revealing the traumatizing events of his childhood; perhaps for the first time ever.

"Capt'n, give 'im a break," Blake interfered to my embarrassment- I didn't want pity; that was humiliating.

"I'm alright, Mr Blake."

They chose to ignore me. "Tell me, Captain Sparrow, how long have ye been trainin' to become the excellent swordfighter ye're now?"

You could see that Jack was flattered as he ruffled himself up proud like a peacock; he definitely loved being praised for his skills. "More than ten years."

"Ah, but ye expect Bootstrap to be able to beat ye in less than a fortnight?"

"'Course not. I **know** he can't beat me, I just…" Jack's hands were up in the air, fluttering uncertainly as if looking for words he didn't want to utter anyway because he wasn't at ease with exposing his feelings. "I just want to make sure this daft idiot will be able to protect himself when he chooses to run headfirst into another folly that may cost his life, and there won't always be a doctor at hand that I can ab… um, persuade to offer assistance. Savvy?"

"Aye, Captain," Blake put a placatory hand on Jack's shoulder, "But ye do recognize that his folly probably saved yer life."

"That isn't very likely. I can damned well take care of me own self." Jack shrugged off the other pirate's hand. "Back to yer station now and mind yer own business."

There had been rumours going on about Jack and me ever since I had been injured; rumours incited by Peg-leg Pat, assuming we were lovers- for whatever reasons- but Jonathan Blake was one of the few aboard who actually seemed to understand the true nature of our bond. Yes, I did love Jack. I loved him like a little brother and just like every little brother he occasionally got on my nerves tremendously.

"Ready for another lesson?" He asked me with a sly half smile and attacked me as soon as I had picked up my sword again.

I would never become a good swordfighter. I still remembered my first kill, and that hadn't been a pleasant experience. Maybe I was too soft for that sport, too soft to ever become a proper pirate. I probably lacked that killing gene that seemed to be essential for pirates but I definitely had the urge to defend myself. I blocked Jack's stroke like he had told me. He ran his blade along mine with a screeching sound as he pushed me backwards up the stairs that led to the afterdeck. I was busy with watching my steps and keeping him at distance, and he took advantage of it. Suddenly he caught my sword with his own and pulled me towards him, grinning like a shark, only to trip me that I stumbled against the stairs. I cursed him- of course I knew he never fought fair but now he'd really gone too far. I got angry. There are times when little brothers deserved a good beating. Instinctively I rammed out my leg while falling and kicked him really hard. Jack fell down the stairs and landed flat on his back on the planks of the main deck. He didn't move, which worried me, but when I approached him, bending over him to see how he was doing, this bloody little bastard had the nerve to try and raise his blade at my throat, never giving up, always having to have the last word. Not now however. I grabbed his arm and twisted it painfully so that he had to drop his sword with a yelp. I swear I would have knocked him out if he hadn't surrendered.

"Bugger! I wouldn't have stopped the doc from sawing off yer leg if I'd known ye'd use it against me," he moaned.

I let go of him, still cautious. From a very far distance I noticed that the crew was cheering and I wondered whether that was a good or a bad sign. After all, I had just disgraced their captain. I heard a few gloating remarks but most of the pirates simply seemed to have enjoyed a bout that didn't end up as usual.

"Sorry for kickin' ye but ye disregarded the rules of engagement first," I accused Jack quietly.

He snorted amused before sitting up, crossing his legs and smirking broadly at me. "No need to be sorry, mate. Actually, it was a good move."

"It wasn't fair…"

"Aye, but that's the point. To **not** fight fair if fighting fair is likely to get ye killed, savvy? 'Cause in the end the only thing that matters is what a man can do and what he can't do. For example, you will never become a good swordfighter according to the rules of engagement so ye have to break them if ye wanna stay alive- and I daresay that surviving is a damned good reason to justify a li'le bit of tricking and cheating."

"So the end justifies the means?"

"Most definitely. After all, ye've got a family to care for… I can't lock ye in the brig ev'ry time ye chose to disobey me orders just to do something stupidly _heroic_. So keep in mind to not fight fair." Jack got to his feet and flashed me a smile. "Ye almost beat me, mate."

"Almost?" I gasped unbelievingly.

"Um… Capt'n, Bootstrap **did** beat ye." Blake emphasised, defending me. "Ye said he can't beat ye but…"

"See, I said he can't beat me therefore he didn't."

I didn't get his logic. "I really should've knocked ye out- perhaps then ye would've considered yerself beaten."

"Ah, but ye couldn't beat me in an honest unfair swordfight so I'm still right."

I growled frustrated. Blake shot me a look saying I don't mind if you knock him out now. Mind, Jonathan Blake was an absolutely loyal man who never would have though of mutiny or anything like that, he adored his captain for being a skilled navigator and careful leader but he was also of the opinion that Jack needed to be rebuked from time to time because he was too full of himself. And he was right with that.

I grabbed Jack and gave him a good shaking. "Damned, it won't hurt ye to admit that I managed to beat ye."

"Well, ye did indeed manage to get me in a position which might have occurred to ye as a hopeless one but actually it wasn't. I let ye win because I didn't wanna hurt ye."

"How kind," I sneered, inwardly counting the bruises on my body and comparing them with Jack's. We had taken off our shirts before the bout so it was quite obvious who looked more beaten. He hadn't been as careful as he was trying to imply.

Jack patted my shoulder. "Now, dear William, would ye please be so good and give orders to change tack. I had almost forgotten that there's business waiting for us in Nassau port."

"Give orders?" I repeated, knowing I sounded stupid.

"Aye, all the stuff with the sails and so on. I'm at the helm."

I was more than just mildly confused because that should have been the job of the first mate and therefore Peg-leg Pat's task. Only now I realized I had hardly seen him on deck lately and when, he had seemed to be a little subdued. What was going on here?

"Bootstrap?" Blake's voice was interrupting my thoughts and he looked at me expectantly, so I gave the orders Jack had asked me to. I was a bit surprised about myself that I found it quite easy to call up the correct order of things to be done for changing our course and yet I breathed a sigh of relief when it actually worked out. Immediately I hurried up the stairs to the afterdeck.

"Well done." Jack nodded approvingly, but I wasn't here for praises.

"What're ye up to, Jack?" I demanded to know.

"We're sailing to Nassau port and thanks to ye we're on the right course now."

"Aye, I got that- but why?"

Jack sighed impatiently. "'Cause we've got business waitin' for us there. Remember Doc Abernathy who did such a brilliant job in stitching up yer leg so that ye could ram it into me? I told ye he's the future personal physician of the Governor of Nassau and since I'm sure the Governor of Nassau would like to have such a skilled man to be his personal physician I guess he's willing to pay a nice sum to get him."

For a moment I forgot why I had came up here in the first place. I had only seen Abernathy a couple of times while I was still literally bound to the bed, recovering, but when I thought about it he had always looked as if he was feeling ill at ease as soon as Jack was around, almost scared. I stared at him in disbelief. "Ye told me ye persuaded him to join yer crew and now ye're saying ye kept him for ransom."

"I kept him to keep ye alive but since it's obvious ye're safe and sound I see no reason why not make profit…"

"But he saved my life!" I protested .

"Aye, and I'm mightily grateful for that but that's got nothing to do with why not asking for ransom, savvy? After all, we're not making **him** pay but Governor Henley. If he decides Abernathy's not worth the ransom we'll keep the doc. Or d'ye want me to keep the doc anyway?" Jack looked at me as if seriously considering this option. "I remember ye wanted to study medicine, he could become yer teacher."

"Jack, he's a human being…"

"I noticed. Bleeds when he gets cut."

I didn't want to know what Jack had done to _persuade_ Doctor Abernathy to save my life; it didn't matter. The end justifies the means and to be honest I was still moved that Jack cared so much about me. However, we were talking about the future of a man.

"Where is he now?"

"In the brig." Jack said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Ye locked him in the brig **although** he'd saved my life?"

"Would ye prefer I locked him in the brig **because **he'd saved yer life?"

I growled frustrated. Jack could be such an ass sometimes and I was absolutely not in the mood for his sick jokes now. "I'd prefer ye let him go free. Now. Listen, I don't mind seizing merchant vessels and plundering them; I don't mind if ye return Abernathy for a ransom, but ye will not lock him in the brig like a man who had done wrong when his only crime was to save my life as ye had told him to."

I didn't know whether he understood what I was about but he handed me the key of the brig nevertheless. Ignoring the hurt look in his eyes I turned my back on him and went to release Doctor Abernathy.

My conscience was clearer then but I still hadn't found out why Jack had made me give orders to the crew. I was merely a hand before the mast like everyone else and not the first mate. Well, he had mentioned that the Pearl wanted me to be her first mate but I figured that the crew would have their say in it too. Perhaps their opinion counted more than the inaudible voice of a ship so I seriously doubted they would choose an inexperienced man just because he was a friend of the captain- or worse, the captain's pet as Peg-leg Pat had hissed at me a couple of days ago. I didn't know what had happened between him and Jack. Peg had never liked Jack but most of the time he had perfectly managed to disguise his dislike until recently. Now his aversion was almost visibly up in the air as if it was something solid. Fortunately it was not to be feared he'd incite a mutiny since Peg-leg Pat would leave us voluntarily in Nassau, retiring from his pirate's life. Someone had told me the old salt had hoarded a small fortune and wanted to open a tavern in Nassau. Well, most certainly I won't shed any tear over him when he was gone.

I stumbled over Jack after I had taken Abernathy to the galley to boil him tea- I didn't want him to believe I was taking his efforts in saving my leg and my life for granted when I was actually damned happy about the way things had turned out. I was grateful and so was he although he didn't seem to mind whether he had stayed in the brig or not. All he wanted was to not be around Jack, but the reason why I only found out years later… apparently Jack had threatened to cut him into pieces, castrate him, skin him alive and whatever else, and feed every bit of him to the sharks if I won't stay alive which included me being whole, in one piece…

However, that I found out many years later but at the moment I was still consumed with wondering why Jack was acting the way he did. Not a good question, I know, given that Captain Jack Sparrow had always been a man hard to predict.

"Bill!" He said cheerfully as he grabbed my arm and dragged me along towards his cabin, but before he opened the door he pointed his head in the direction of another, smaller cabin. "That'll be yours as soon as Peg's gone."

I didn't want any privileged treatment just because my captain seemed to like me, so I said I didn't mind sleeping with the crew. Of course he got that wrong, deliberately, and cracked an ambiguous joke to which I dumbly replied that it wasn't below me to sleep in the crew's quarters although I had gotten what he was teasing me with.

Jack wiped my doubts away with a casual, impatient movement of hands and offered me to join him for a sip of rum. Well, I liked rum and I had developed a taste for it- at least for good rum. Like wine there where worlds between a good drop and a bad, but Jack seemed to always have a bottle of the finest Caribbean rum at hand.

Nevertheless I looked at him sternly. "Stop distracting me. Tell me what's in that devious mind o' yers. Why did ye give me orders…"

"… to delegate me orders?" Jack finished my sentence, smiling slyly. "Well, that's because ye're the first mate of the Pearl and being first mate means it's yer bloody job to see to it that me orders are being followed, savvy?"

I stared at him in disbelief because that was just ridiculous. I couldn't be the first mate of a pirate vessel since I wasn't even a good sailor, I had just learned a bit about navigation, and I would never become a proper pirate because I simply was too soft. Too soft to kill- damned, it had turned my insides upside down when running through the guy that had threatened Jack, and though I didn't regret it there was still a stale taste in my mouth.

"I'm hardly the right man for this job."

"Ye are," Jack begged to differ, "the crew's rooting for ye, mate. Ye're very popular with them for being just the way ye are. Straightforward, honest, caring… not the abilities a pirate really needs but they appreciate the way ye always try to mediate and settle any quarrels aboard. Ye know the name of Blake's wife, how many kids Matthews has, the birthday of my favourite whore… well, probably not that…"

"Are ye just trying to butter me up when in fact ye merely want to fob me off with a position, a cabin, and rum to make me forget that ye locked Doctor Abernathy in the brig for no reason?"

"See, that's exactly what I mean- ye're a just man. Ye've got many hidden talents, dear Bill… but ye didn't beat me today, savvy?"

"Blast! Drink yer bloody rum alone!" I slammed my glass on the table and got up. Jack blanched. Apparently he hadn't expected I'd ever walk out on him so he jumped up with a start and launched himself at me to stop me with the result that we both ended up on the floor. I prayed no one would come to see the captain now since we were in a position that would only feed the assumptions of those who called me the captain's pet. We unravelled the mess of entwined limbs in combination with the remains of a broken chair, when Jack suddenly said, "Alright, ye've won."

It took me a moment to get what he wanted to tell me and came up with the conclusion that he had almost admitted I had beaten him in our earlier bout if only he had sounded more convincing. "Yet ye still don't believe I did."

"Um," he shot me one of his cheeky half-smiles, "actually…no. Will ye stay for a glass o' rum anyway?"

"Ye bloody, boasting, arrogant bastard." I hissed quietly. I wanted to walk out and slam the door behind me but then I considered it again. It would be wrong. There had been already too many doors being literally slammed in Jack's face, beginning with being an unwanted, unloved kid, shoved around and probably beaten many times. Then he'd lived as a street urchin in the gutters of Tortuga, fighting for a living and to gain respect. He had signed on a pirate ship at the age of thirteen, joined Morgan on his raid of Panama when he was about fifteen, faced cruelty- his whole life had been dominated by surviving in a hostile world without friends. No wonder he was selfish. When no one cares about you, you either become very egoistic, only caring about yerself to stay alive, or you go down. It was as simple as that and boasting was just another way to appear strong, never showing any weakness. Thinking about that it was a wonder he had managed to stay relatively sane and hadn't lost his humour, his wits, or his good heart. And Jack did have a good heart. There merely had never been anyone encouraging him to make use of it, how to treat other people without offending them.

I didn't want to stress the topic about which of us had actually won our practice bout- since that didn't really matter- but I wanted to let him know why I was so pissed off with him.

"Alright, I'll stay if ye hear me out, savvy?"

Jack nodded. Of course he couldn't bring himself to listen without throwing in some mocking remarks; nevertheless he did listen closely when I talked about my feelings. It wasn't my intention to rebuke him, I merely wanted him to understand what I didn't like about his behaviour towards Abernathy or his defiant ignorance that I had indeed beaten him in an unfair fight against all the rules of engagement. And he understood. Mayhap it was too much to ask for that he would openly admit that, but sometimes there was more in what Jack didn't say than in all the things his silver tongue uttered. He had a knack with words; he could lie straight to your face without blushing or even batting an eye, and yet his eyes told the truth. His damned eyes- one look at them had been enough to take the wind out of my sails since it was absolutely not possible to stay angry with him when these dark brown orbs directed at you reflected hurt, the fear of being rejected and abandoned. Of course he wouldn't admit that either as well as I would never admit just how much he could make my heart melt. In the end he agreed I had been right about Abernathy given that he treasured freedom more than anything else which led to an ardent speech against slavery. His arguments were well-considered, unusual and daring for the times we lived in, and they proved once again how bright he really was. Nevertheless he was quite stubborn when it came to give in to the fact that I had managed to beat him in our latest training bout.

"Aye, I could say ye've won without that sounding like a lie but if I'd do that and admit ye actually managed to beat me ye'd probably become reckless and believe ye're good in fighting when in fact ye were just lucky…"

I cut him short. "Jack, are ye trying to tell me ye'd admit that I'd won if ye weren't fearing for me?"

He stared at me for a moment and shook his head before nodding slightly. "Ye don't make any sense, William Turner."

7


	8. 7 Nassau

7- Nassau

Jack came prancing up the Pearl's gangway, smiling very contently as he shoved a chicken into my arms. A living chicken. The bloody poultry started to cackle hysterically and tried to escape my grip so I let go of it before it could work its claws on my skin. Still cackling it scurried across the deck but when it headed towards the gangway Jack shouted, "Hold the chicken!" Immediately several shots rang through the air and the hen dropped dead in a whirl of feathers.

"Blast! I wanted it to lay eggs for me."

"Now it's chicken soup for dinner." With a shrug I glanced at Jack. "I do hope that heap of bloody feathers isn't all ye got for Abernathy."

"Ah, now ye sound like a real pirate, mate. Ye want something shiny?" He rummaged through his pockets and handed me two spoons.

"Spoons." It was hard to disguise my enthusiasm.

"No. **Silver** spoons."

"Great. That of course makes a difference." I turned around to call for the ship's cook. "Mr Cook, would you please be so kind to prepare His Royal Daftness' five o'clock tea."

Jack chuckled amused- at least he didn't remind me it wasn't five o'clock yet. With an eccentric gesture he produced a heavy purse and leaned closer to me, whispering in my ear. "Perhaps ye like that better." He shook the purse to make the coins inside jingle. "Gold. And where that comes from there'd be more. Much more."

I arched a brow. "Ye wanna sack Nassau?"

"Aye. Give orders to weigh anchor and hoist the sails."

That moment Mr Cook approached us, carrying a tray with two cups that looked like they had once belonged to a fine tea service. He took the two silver spoons from my hand, placed them on the tray and bowed to Jack like an obedient butler would do. "Yer tea, Mylord Captain."

Everyone aboard burst out with hilarious laughter while Jack shot Mr Cook a glance as if he supposed the ship's cook wanted to poison him. "Tea?" Then he noticed that the crew stared at him and started barking orders to make them move.

We left Nassau port which seemed to be a tad illogical given that Jack had just decided to sack the town, but of course Jack already had a plan. He told me later that it would have been dead boring to open fire at the town, scare everybody shitless, plunder, torture, kill and rape because that was what most pirates usually did. He, however, wanted to do something more sophisticated. A clever, well calculated plan instead of the typical slash and hack thing.

"Ye know, Bill, it's kinda pointless to torture people to death merely in order to find out where they have hidden their treasures when it's obvious they don't have any hidden treasures anyway."

I knew he was referring to Morgan and the raid of Panama, and I didn't even want to try and imagine the scenes he must have seen there. It was perfectly alright to me that he chose to avoid this although humanity was probably not his main motive. What Jack wanted was an event people would still be talking about in hundred years; he wanted to create his own legend.

Jack also told me what it was like to deliver Doctor Abernathy at the Governor's manor, a pompous house in the hills above Nassau, about two miles away from the town and situated in midst of dense green plantations. He had a knack for describing things- I could almost envision the different shades of green or the interior of the mansion. I saw rooms overloaded with tasteless stuff the stuck-up rich folks were so fond of, lots of golden ornamentations, chandeliers, tapestries made of silk or brocade…

Governor Charles Henley was a red-faced, sweaty fat man who was still not accustomed to the climate of the Caribbean, loved sherry just a bit too much and despised the idea of talking a walk when he could use a carriage. Though he had been glad to see the arrival of his new personal physician, he was a little upset that it had taken Abernathy so long to finally show up since the doc had been needed much earlier due to an acute attack of gout. He was good at moaning and complaining, drowning in self-pity while not wasting a thought about other people's welfare. Apparently it hadn't bothered him at all that Doctor Abernathy had been captured and threatened by pirates; he hadn't even asked him whether he was alright. Instead, he had insisted on a prompt examination to find out if his new personal physician was worth any ransom.

I laughed out loud when Jack told me that Abernathy had actually accused the Governor of being too fat and too lazy, claiming that that was the reason for his poor health although he had skilfully wrapped it in more ornate words. Henley hadn't gotten it and insisted on a blood-letting just in case, but apparently the loss of blood had led to a lack of sense since he had actually tried to make a deal with Jack. The corrupt, rich opportunist had boasted about his good connections to pirates; they were welcome in Nassau as long as he got his share of their plunder.

"Blast! I hope ye didn't agree to that!"

Jack snorted compulsively. "'Course not. That's a blasphemous idea, just like devaluing an honest pirate's work. Honestly, Bill, ye should know I'm an honest pirate and not a hypocritical, arse-licking privateer. I did make him believe I'd take it into consideration though, but only to loosen his tongue."

I simply loved the passion of his loathing; I could never imagine him wilfully surrendering to any sort of obligation since that was not in Jack's character. He was an anarchist who didn't believe in the rules of society or moral standards but preferred to set up his own laws. He was also a trickster so I could perfectly envision Governor Henley dancing like a marionette to the strings Jack drew without even comprehending that he had fallen into the pirate's clutches. I was thrilled. And I realized that I got more and more into all the stuff Jack called fun.

"What did he say?"

"Well, he sort of mentioned some gold… actually lots of gold that had been brought to Nassau from other British colonies and just waits to be stolen before an English man-o'-war would grant its safe passage to England. Sounds tempting, aye?"

I just smiled at him.

"However, Henley's a stupid man to believe I'd pick a fight with a bloody man-o'-war or attack Nassau merely to steal the gold and give him a share."

"Indeed. He must have completely underestimated the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow." Which was little surprise since Jack still looked like a scarecrow wearing a conglomeration of rags. At least he had found himself a proper pair of boots meanwhile. But back to our current situation. "So what's yer plan?"

"Observation," he replied conspiratorially, keeping me in suspense.

"Observation?"

"Aye. I guess ye could also call it unobtrusively spying out Nassau port in order to find a smarter way to steal the gold than picking a fight with the Royal Navy. Savvy?"

I frowned- there was no way to imagine him being unobtrusive since that was certainly not one of the words that came to my mind if I had to describe Jack; he'd always be like a bird of paradise in a chicken-coop. Then I heard the rattling sound of the anchor chains and knew our conversation ended here, leaving me not much wiser than before. Jack scurried on deck with me following in his wake to take a look at our present surroundings.

We had dropped anchor in a bay that was still within walking distance of Nassau port but well shielded from suspicious eyes by rocky cliffs on one side and dense mangroves on the other; in between was a strip of white sand rimmed with palm trees.

Jack pointed at the mouth of a small stream which divided the beach from the mangrove forest. "That little river leads to Nassau. It ends at the graveyard- well, it doesn't end there since it actually ends here, coming from the mountains, but given that we don't want to go to the mountains ye could as well say it ends at the graveyard."

I blinked at him in utter confusion. I didn't want to go to the graveyard either. The idea was somehow disturbing, like an uncanny touch of destiny. I shook off the notion.

"And ye found out all that by crossing the town once or twice today?" I wondered aloud.

"Nah, that I found out by taking a look at the map Henley had in his office while he was trying to bribe me." Jack replied casually. Then he gave me a more serious glance. "Anyhow, I want ye to take Johnny along for a pleasant evening ashore. Have a meal and a few drinks in the local taverns…"

"Ye're not gonna join us?"

"As ye mentioned, I've already been to Nassau today and it's not that exciting. Besides, I've things to take care off, captain's stuff and all that. So," smiling, he handed me a few coins, "have fun, but keep yer eyes and ears open."

With a nod I stowed the money in my pockets and assured him I would although I didn't have a clue what to look out for. Apparently Jack didn't either because when I asked him he took me aside, his hands dramatically fluttering in the air only to emphasise he was at a loss. Finally he dropped his hands on my shoulders, conspiratorially leaning closer.

"Actually, I've no idea."

"Well," I sighed, "great."

"Just be attentive, observe and listen closely, especially to any kind of gossip 'bout Governor Henley. Report to me as soon as yer back- and please try not to do anything stupid, savvy?"

I agreed to that, knowing that Jack did care about me. But I still wasn't any wiser.

He squeezed my shoulders tightly, trustingly; a wry smile was twitching the corners of his lips. "And if ye happen to stumble across a chicken, I still want one to lay eggs for me."

I laughed out loud. "I'm good at stumbling, Jack. Actually that's in me name."

Johnny's life had definitely improved since the day Jack had taken him to join his crew. He had been a homeless street urchin before, always on the run, trying to escape the press gangs as well as the authorities of Port Royal. He had lived on a day to day basis, never knowing what the next morning would bring. Would the merciful baker's wife give him a piece of bread, would he be able to steal enough food at the market so that he didn't have to return to his favourite sleeping place with a hungry growling stomach? Would his favourite sleeping place still be free or occupied by someone else, another street urchin just like him? He could have dealt with lads of his age, even some older ones. It was the men, the perverted villains that roamed the streets of Port Royal, he had been scared of for good reasons. Life aboard the Pearl wasn't less any hard but far more pleasurable. Though he had to work for his living now, there was always enough food and a safe place to sleep. He absolutely adored Jack for having given him a chance.

We left the longboat hidden under a bridge that led to the graveyard- so far Jack had been right- then we took a stroll over the market. We were late. The sellers, merchants or peasants, were already beginning to pack their stuff when we arrived. I wouldn't have minded if Johnny hadn't set his thick head on buying a chicken for Jack and he pestered me until I gave in. After all's said and done we bought two hens because I had given into Johnny's argument that one would feel lonely. Once more I realised I was way too soft if I cared about a lonely chicken aboard a pirate vessel. However, Johnny was happy.

Fortunately the poultry came in a cage. I would have hated having to walk through Nassau with two chicken crammed under my arms. On the other hand the hens were good to disguise our real intentions since people who looked at me and Johnny believed we were peasants. I was surprised how easy it was for me to spin a yarn about our small farm in the hinterland of New Providence island. Well, apparently I had learned a lot from Jack. It was interesting how much I had changed within a year after leaving London; I had been an honest, respectable man who obeyed the law but then I had witnessed how easy laws could be bent and now I was almost proud being a pirate. I didn't mind the idea of plundering Nassau port if Jack really managed to come up with a sophisticated plan that did not include any senseless bloodshed. He had asked me to keep my eyes and ears open, so I did.

The inhabitants of Nassau would probably have been more careful with what they uttered in our presence if I had looked more like a pirate but I didn't; at least not then. There was a lot of gossip going on about Governor Henley. It didn't seem to be of any significance, nevertheless I listened and tried to remember. I just wished Jack had been more concrete about what he wanted to find out.

We spent some time in the local taverns before we made our way back home to the Pearl. Actually I was glad to leave because it wasn't always easy with a young lad trapped at the difficult age between childhood and maturity. Johnny had acted very much like a kid while we had been at the market, convincing me with childlike enthusiasm to purchase the hens for Jack- seeing him beaming with glee had been my main motivation- but as soon as we had entered the first tavern he had almost instantly grown up and wanted to drink like a man. I had ordered a light beer for him, ignoring his sulking. Of course that hadn't lasted long because he had taken a fancy to the barmaid and her heavy swaying bosom. I didn't envy Claire for having to raise Will all on her own, especially not when he reached Johnny's age. Nevertheless I felt sad for missing the chance to see him growing up; he might need some fatherly advice.

I was brooding over that when we rowed our longboat through dense Caribbean jungle. Branches of trees were overhanging the stream, brushed our faces, interrupting my thoughts. I became aware of the nocturnal noises in the undergrowth along the banks of the river, of various crawling, scurrying or fluttering animals I didn't know. It sent a shiver down my spine and at the same time I was just thrilled, excited by the untamed beauty of Caribbean nights. A full moon cast a diffuse silvern light, creating bizarre shadows.

Suddenly Johnny dropped the oars and clung to me frightened, shaking like a leaf, stammering something that vaguely sounded like _Ghosts._ Not believing in ghosts my eyes followed the way his outstretched arm pointed at. It almost made me change my mind. Then I took a closer look and noticed that what had appeared to be limbless ghosts were in fact merely some white shirts hanging on invisible clotheslines in order to dry. I also remembered having seen a couple of Negro women at the banks of the stream, doing the washing when we had passed them hours ago. Laughing I told Johnny who instantly shot me a look that claimed he hadn't been scared at all.

I didn't know what got into me that I ordered the lad to row us ashore. Mayhap it was the image of Jack in his ridiculous, once red and now too small shirt. However, there were fine clothes hanging unguarded in the garden of what seemed to be the mansion of a noblemen who probably wouldn't miss a few items of his wardrobe. I made a point not to pick any posh shirts with frills from the clothesline. The ones I chose were plain but of excellent quality- at least as far as I could judge since I wasn't an expert of fine fabrics. I wondered though whether Jack would appreciate my choice.

… _please try not to do anything stupid,_ he had asked me and entering a property that seemed to be unguarded when it in fact a very irritated Mastiff guarding it was definitely stupid. I didn't pay attention to its growling while picking various clothes from the clothesline, thinking the damned beast was safely kept on a leash until it started heading for me. I ran to out boat. The dog barked and snapped for my heels, almost digging its fangs in my legs but then it suddenly dropped like it was dead. I stared at Johnny and praised the Caribbean for its abundance of coconuts.

The rest of our journey back to the Black Pearl was uneventful.

There was still light in Jack's cabin and since he had told me to report as soon as I was back, I went to fill him in. I opened the door of his cabin and found him sound asleep, his head resting on his arms folded over some charts spread across his table. I grinned; so that was captain's stuff? Not wanting to wake him I began to extinguish the candles when he suddenly raised his head.

"Bill. Ye're back," he slurred sleepily.

"Aye. But since I merely have some gossip to report ye can as well go back to sleep."

"Hm… good…" He got up from the table and staggered towards his bed when he became aware of the bundle I was holding. "What's that?"

Without saying a word I shoved the stolen clothes in his arms, feeling a bit awkward.

"For me?" Now he was wide awake. He held up one of the shirts then glanced at me. "Ye stole them for me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Is there anyone else 'round worth stealing for?"

Jack actually looked around only to find out we were indeed alone in his cabin. "Nobody has ever stolen something for me."

"Ah, don't make such a fuss about a few shirts. Just do me a favour and throw away that rag ye're wearing." I said, trying to sound nonchalantly when in fact I was glad he hadn't laughed about me. He surprised me even more when he grabbed me in a bone-crushing hug. It wasn't because of the shirts, it was more for the fact that I had given him a present since he wasn't used to it. I told him to get used to it.

"'Tis not a big garrison, scarcely sixty soldier and not more than five cannons." Walker reported. He and Matthews had also been sent out to do some spying, and I thought they had done a better job than Johnny and I. At least they had found out more significant things. Jack, however, seemed bored and preferred to devote his attention to the two hens instead.

"C'mon ye mangy heaps of feathers, lay an egg for good ol' Jack. Blast, I'm hungry."

Before he could take their refusal to lay an egg at command too personally, I interfered. "Oh please, give 'em a break. Did ye even listen to Walker? He said the gold is stored in the fort."

"Not big, sixty soldiers, five guns- aye, I heard what he said. It may come as a surprise, dear Bill, but I can talk to the damned hens and listen to Walker. The point's just that there isn't any point in what he's telling me since we don't wanna attack the bloody fort to get the gold. That's too blatant. Every bloody pirate would do that- you're sure these chicken are hens, Johnny? See, I mightily appreciate yer efforts to get me some poultry but if they don't start laying eggs I'm really pissed off. Maybe they're too old…"

"Mayhap they're just too scared." I took the cage, opened the cabin door, and handed the cage to the first pirate that walked by, telling him to take the hens anywhere, but not to Mr Cook.

Jack scowled. "Now, saviour of chickens, would ye mind to tell me what ye've found out?"

"Not much," I admitted embarrassed, "merely some gossip. Apparently Governor Henley is celebrating his birthday tomorrow and everyone's invited- well, at least the whole upper class of Nassau that is. He dotes on his daughter Mary who is married to judge George Phenney but doesn't take her matrimonial vows all too serious; there're rumours she's having affairs with some handsome young farmers. Then she goes to confession to relieve her bad conscience. Five Hail Mary's and she's granted absolution. Whatever, Henley also dotes on sherry, so everyone believes the keeper of the local liquor store, a rich merchant called Phillip Lyne, will give him some barrels of his favourite booze as a present; it's said Lyne's ship, the Amity, has returned just in time from Europe."

I ended my report with a shrug, knowing that I had only told meaningless gossip, but Jack begged to differ. Actually he was quite thrilled.

"Well done, Bill. That's what I call useful information. Did ye listen and learn, Mr Walker?"

The poor guy gave his captain a confused look and wasn't any wiser than I was. "Beg yer pardon, Capt'n, and," he nodded respectful at me, "no offence intended, Bootstrap, but that was just some sort of entertaining gossip instead of facts. I believe it's more relevant how many cannons the fort holds than with whom the Governor's daughter sleeps."

Jack chose to ignore Walker's objection and dismissed us, apparently brooding. We were already half out the door when he called me back. I turned around to face him.

"Aye?"

He rose from his chair and pranced through his cabin. I noticed he was wearing one of the shirts I had stolen for him, a plain black vest, and dark grey pants; it filled me with a certain pride to see that the clothes fit him well.

"How do I look?"

I sighed; I knew I shouldn't feed his ego because he was too full of himself anyway but I liked him not looking like a rag doll anymore. "Ye look good, Jack."

Fortunately he didn't behave like a proud peacock then; he just flashed me a warm smile.

"Alright. Let's go to Nassau."

I didn't know what he had in mind but I hoped he would tell me betimes. We were rowing up the river towards Nassau, passing the property where I had stolen Jack's clothes from. The bloody Mastiff had recovered from last night's collision with a coconut and ran barking along the bank, probably accusing me for its headache. I was glad to be in the longboat. In the daylight its fangs looked even more impressive.

We passed some other mansions, partly hidden behind trees or bushes but all close to the river. I thought that was interesting so I mentioned it to Jack. He merely nodded and rowed on, unusually silent. I let him be. There was no use in urging him to talk if he didn't want to.

Later, strolling over the market place, Jack's mood improved after he had stuffed himself with pastries. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and dragged me to the nearest tavern for a fresh, cool pint of beer. Conspiratorially he leaned closer.

"The commander of this little fort over there, d'ye happen to know if he's invited too?"

Ah, the party; he was referring to Governor Henley's birthday party. I tried to recall what I had picked up about the local Navy officers. The only one mentioned being of a higher rank had been a Lieutenant Dangerfield, actually Lord Dangerfield. That, I told Jack, although I didn't know whether the Lieutenant was the commander of Nassau's military forces. But being a Lord would certainly grant him an invitation.

"Why are ye so interested in Henley's birthday?" I asked then. The words had just left my mouth when I suddenly began to figure him out. "Ah, I know, all the important people of Nassau assembled in one place. And we're… um, doing what?"

"We're the surprise guests."

"Alright. I assume storming the house in traditional pirate style is not yer intention. How do we get in then?"

"We'd be the sherry."

"We come in barrels?"

"Aye. Ye know, I really appreciate yer wits, Bill. No endless debates needed, ye simply get what I'm about."

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks because his praise meant a great deal to me, and it wasn't just empty talk.

"I still need to find out how we're gonna manage to hide in said barrels but I guess a short visit at the liquor seller's place will do."

So we did. We finished our beers and went to buy a bottle of rum from Mr Lyne. Of course Jack wouldn't buy any rum, it had to be the best. He drove the seller crazy with endless questions while I used the time to unobtrusively spy out the shop.

The house was situated close to the port and had a large cellar where most of the spirits were kept. I saw a ship unloading some barrels that were brought to the cellar via what seemed to be a subterranean canal.

Half an hour later we left Mr Lyne's liquor shop with a bottle of rum and some interesting information, since Jack agreed that the way the barrels got in the cellar would also be a good way for us to get to the barrels with sherry that were likely stored down there. His plan was slowly taking on a more concrete shape. We talked it over again when we were languidly strolling along the streets of Nassau. It was daring and crazy but it nevertheless made perfect sense to me.

A lady and her maid came walking towards us. Her Ladyship was an attractive blonde with her hair pinned up in neat curls; an umbrella protected her fair pale skin from the sun. She wore a dress of light blue silk which accentuated the colour of her eyes. She was pretty and damned well knew it; it gave her an air of arrogance.

The lady eyed us up and down, and arched a delicate brow in approval. Apparently she fancied meeting us because she _lost_ her handkerchief.

"Ye dropped something, missy." Jack pointed out, not at all impressed by her way of flirting. I loved him for not crouching at her feet in order to pick up the damned handkerchief, for indifferently holding her glare.

"It's Mrs George Phenney for you, lad. My husband is the judge of Nassau," she snapped harshly and her face became less pretty; you could see now that she was a woman in her thirties. Then she glanced at me, hoping I would be more cooperative, but I wasn't either.

Jack swept off his hat and sketched a bow, a mocking smile curling up the corners of his lips. "I'm honestly pleased to meet ye, Mylady. I swear I will remember yer face."

Then he walked on and I followed him, trying to suppress a laugh. So this was Mary, the Governor's daughter. It was good to know her face since we would need her later- although not in a way she would have wished. I wondered how she managed to get the handsome young farmers in her bed like it was rumoured. Of course she was an attractive woman but only as long as her arrogance didn't render the lines in her face harsh, and she wasn't used to be rejected.

Jack entered a little side street and stopped to lurk around the corner, then he glanced at me, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Well, the hull would've been worth plundering but with the wind taken off her sails she appeared more like an ol' frigate." He shrugged. "What d'ye think, is she going to confess her sins now?"

"Lusting for two pirates? Perhaps. I doubt though she'll admit that she's a manipulative, arrogant bitch."

"I wonder…"

"No." I cut him off and grabbed his arm, knowing what he was up to. "Ye won't try to find out. We're not gonna do anything stupid like hiding in a church to hear her confession, savvy?"

"It would be interesting," he offered.

I sighed. "Aye, mayhap. But d'ye wanna take the risk of endangering yer plan to sack Nassau just for some dubious fun?"

Jack shook his head slightly. I wasn't sure whether he had listened to me at all since a small cartographer's shop had caught his attention; at least he had forgotten about eavesdropping on Lady Mary's confession. He gave me a sign to follow him and entered the shop.

The clothes I had stolen for him made him look like a customer who had some money to spend, therefore the cartographer greeted him with an almost obsequious politeness, eager to show Jack as many maps of New Providence island as he pleased. Meanwhile I tried to figure him out. I noticed his interest in very detailed maps where the big estates were marked in. Though the he didn't buy any he was able to draw a map from memory later, when we were back aboard the Pearl. His drawing showed mainly the river and the estates at its banks.

I whistled, impressed. So he had taken my earlier observations into serious consideration.

Jack flashed me a wicked smile as if reading my thoughts. "I always listen to what ye say, Bill. Now tell me I'm right to assume that- given that most of the servants have an evening off tomorrow and the mansions will most likely be unguarded- about a dozen hands in two longboats will do to plunder these houses."

He was right- did I have to tell him? Instead I picked up the quill and marked the property where I had stolen Jack's clothes from. "Beware of the Mastiff there, terrible fangs."

We spent most part of the night talking his plan over and over again, sharing the bottle of rum we had purchased in Nassau. After all's said and done Jack managed to convince me that, although there were some weak points in his plan- he couldn't possible **know **if Henley would really react the way he believed he would- we would succeed nevertheless. So I decided to trust him instead of mulling over all the things that could go wrong. He sensed my uneasiness and tried to distract me with daydreaming about what we were going to do with all the gold until we fell asleep.

In the morning, Captain Jack Sparrow summoned the crew in order to fill them in and distribute the various tasks he had in mind for them. Some pirates thought he was utterly mad but most of them thought his madness was only matched by his brilliance, so they agreed. It was good to know that I wasn't the only fool aboard.

Time crept for the rest of the day, nervousness spread with every hour of impatient waiting for the sun to set. Then, finally, the time for action had come and we headed towards Nassau.

Matthews led the group of pirates that would plunder the houses along the river. They were supposed to return to the Pearl when their job was done and then take the ship to Nassau port, and wait for us there.

Jack and I would appear as surprise guests at Henley's birthday party. I must admit that I had hoped there'd be more pirates accompanying us but apparently there were only two barrels of sherry for the Governor.

We were lying in our longboat, waiting for the opportune moment to get into the cellar of Mr Lyne's liquor shop. The night was cloudy; it had been raining before, only a light drizzle but enough to make the people hurry to their homes. Now, the streets were empty.

I checked my pistol again, perhaps for the fifth time in as many minutes. Waiting made me nervous. Shaking his head with amusement, Jack took the pistol from my hands and put it- together with his own- in a small barrel. I raised a quizzical brow at him.

"Ye don't want it to get wet, d'ye?"

"Wet?"

He pointed at the sea. It was only then I noticed the rope attached to the barrel and grasped what he was about; apparently this part of his plan must have slipped my attention. I blamed it on the rum..

"Ah, we're gonna swim?"

Jack cast his eyes heavenwards and I felt like a total idiot. Of course we couldn't row straight into Lyne's cellar with our longboat; we had to swim. The barrel would cover us from suspicious eyes as well as keeping our weapons and clothes dry. I followed Jack's example and took off my shirt and boots, stowing them in the barrel. Meanwhile, Jack had slid over the side of the longboat and splashed water at me.

"Ye know, there was a reason why I taught ye how to swim. C'mon now."

"And I thought it had been just for fun."

"Well, this is fun."

I gave him a ducking to show him the meaning of fun, but then we both became more serious again. We managed to make our way through the canal and into the cellar safely, without being noticed. Jack hurried to empty the two sherry barrels destined for Governor Henley although he couldn't resist to try the booze first. I could see that it definitely wasn't to his taste because he pulled a quite disgusted face.

"Remember this as the day that Captain Jack Sparrow didn't feel sorry to pour two barrels of liquor into the sea- bloody awful, sticky-sweat stuff that is. I hope the mermaids won't get sick. Actually, I think we're doing good ol' Henley a favour."

"I doubt he'll agree," I chuckled, but my good mood didn't last long since it was time to hide in the barrels.

Once again we were doing what had been on today's agenda anyway- waiting. I hated waiting. Especially being crammed in a barrel, surrounded by darkness and silence; it felt like being kept in solitary confinement… like in the dungeon in London... I fought back those memories. Damned, that part of Jack's plan was definitely no fun. I wished I could at least chat with him but of course that wasn't possible given that talking barrels were considered as highly suspicious.

I was tensed up and ready to explode when we were finally transported to the Governor's mansion. I heard music, the sound of people talking, laughing, clinking glasses. Finally! I was just in the right mood to ruin the party of some upper-class folks.

"My dear friend Charles, as a gesture of the close bond we share, I would like to congratulate you on your special day with a present," Mr Lyne, the liquor merchant, announced us.

Jack popped out of the barrel like a jack-in-the-box, shouting cheerfully, "A very happy birthday, Governor Henley."

Some women shrieked but most of the people present were still too surprised to react at all.

"Oh my God, Jack Sparrow!" Henley gasped.

"Though I feel extraordinary flattered, it's just _Captain_ Jack Sparrow." Jack swung his legs gracefully over the edge of the barrel and snatched himself a glass of wine from a tray a perplexed servant was carrying. He toasted to the Governor while at the same time pointing his pistol at him. Then he sent his empty glass crashing against the wall to startle the party guests. "Ladies and gentlemen, please feel honoured 'cause ye can consider yerselves as captives of Captain Jack Sparrow."

"You won't get away with that, pirate." Lieutenant Dangerfield was about to draw his sword when he stopped dead at the sound of a pistol being cocked, my pistol. I pressed the barrel at his temple and purloined the sword from his hand.

"Beware, lieutenant. One false move and I'll have yer brain splattered all over the room, which would be quite messy- I mightily doubt the ladies will enjoy it."

"May I introduce me mate Bootstrap? He really is a fearful pirate, the unscrupulous, ruthless," Jack flashed me a smile and I swear he teasingly mouthed, _saviour of chickens_, before he continued, "terror of the seas. I wouldn't annoy him if I were you.… he's got a very nervous trigger finger, if ye know what I mean." He bent his head to Henley's ear. "Bang, bang!"

It was fun to see the Governor wince; actually it was hard not to burst out laughing. There were twenty or more rich, decadent and probably corrupt noblemen assembled in this room, the same kind of guys that had always looked down on me, and yet they were almost grovelling before me now, subdued, pathetically whining for mercy.

"For goodness' sake, take whatever you want but please don't kill anyone."

"Many thanks, Governor." Jack sketched a bow and sat down on the table where the buffet was set out, helping himself. He gnawed at a chicken wing before he picked up a lobster by its tail, tsking. "Henley, Henley, I thought Doc Abernathy had told ye that crustaceans aren't good for yer health- ye ought to be grateful we interrupted this little party o' yers or ye'd be suffering from another attack of gout on the morrow."

Then he jumped to his feet again and started prancing the room, looking the fair ladies up and down while assessing the value of their jewellery.

"Well, me darlings, ye heard what the good ol' Governor said but I'd be much more obliged if ye'd give me yer pretty baubles voluntarily."

It was highly entertaining to watch the ladies obeying, some of them all too willingly and with a sigh of delight escaping their lips when Captain Jack Sparrow approached them. I couldn't blame them for being attracted by him, in comparison to their stiff, boring but very honourable husbands he definitely was a handsome rogue. They fluttered their lashes and shot him flirtatious glances, and Jack took pride in that, naturally. I merely hoped they wouldn't start swooning with admiration.

"Despicable pirate. My husband will send you to the gallows," one of the ladies snapped with a cool voice but perhaps she was only irritated that Jack didn't pay her enough attention.

"Ah, Lady Mary! I told ye, I'd remember yer face, luv."

"Oh my God, Mary, dear, you know this villain?" Her father, the Governor, gasped.

"He threatened me on the street today, when I was on my way to church." Now she sounded like a sweet, innocent lass that was close to tears.

"You should have told me, darling."

Well, if that was her husband it didn't surprise me she was seeking fun outside her matrimonial bed. Judge George Phenney was at least twenty years her senior and the only thing impressive about him was his wig, which was huge.

The situation was getting a tad ridiculous then since, despite being threatened by pirates, Henley and Phenney started accusing each other for not taking enough care about Mary, which could also be seen as a contest who was doting on her most. Jack rolled his eyes and I thought it was about time to push ahead with our threatening. Apparently Jack had the same idea. He grabbed Mary who suddenly didn't mind at all being close to him.

"Ye know, missy, these precious jewels ye're wearing don't flatter ye at all."

Breathing a delicate little sigh she fumbled with a diamond decorated cross that was dangling on a string of pearls right in the valley between her breasts. "Do you want to take away my necklace, pirate?"

"Nah," Jack looked at me, grimacing, indicating his dislike for Her Ladyship. "Bootstrap! What d'ye think would flatter Lady Mary's fair skin?"

"Cold steel!" I retorted and tossed him Dangerfield's sword which he caught elegantly only to press it against Mary's throat.

"Aye, cold steel looks good on her. Governor…" Jack had to wait until the screaming and shrieking had ceased a bit before he could tell Henley what he wanted in exchange for his daughter's life. The doting father agreed immediately- mayhap he thought he had reached an agreement with Jack earlier, when he had tried to bribe him, and was expecting his share of the gold stored in the fort.

None of the noblemen questioned Governor Henley's decision although there was one who believed he had to play the hero for Lady Mary and save her. Personally, I thought it should be the other way round, that someone should save us from having to spend the rest of the night in her company, but the pistol this young fool had drawn was obviously pointing in Jack's direction.

"Let go of her or…"

Before I could shoot him- and I swear I would have- a chair crashed down on his head and knocked him out. Jack raised a surprised brow at his saviour.

"Oh, came to join me crew again, Doc?"

I never found out Abernathy's motives for helping Jack, maybe he loathed Governor Henley more than he feared Jack's madness, but he did indeed join our crew that night.

We left the party then, taking Lady Mary and Lieutenant Dangerfield as hostages. Abernathy helped us to track down the servants of the mansion and lock them in the same room with the noblemen so that they could all celebrate the Governor's birthday together. In order to assure they would get to know each other very well we saw to it that they would stay in this room by barricading the door with at with a chair that blocked the handle.

Lieutenant Dangerfield protested but that was the most daring thing he ever did. No wonder that he was merely a lieutenant in a small Caribbean colony, ruled by a bribable governor. I doubted the events of today would improve his chances to make a career.

Meanwhile, Lady Mary proved to be a real nuisance. She talked too much, most of all about the heritage of her family and their influence in London. We hardly listened because we weren't interested in what she had to say, I didn't even know what she intended to gain by telling us. Mayhap she thought it would gain her Jack's attention given that she had been shooting him adoring glances ever since he had taken her hostage. Jack, however, wasn't interested in her at all. Actually it was quite embarrassing to watch her turning innocent puppy eyes at him while at the same time acting like a bitch on heat. I've seen whores behaving more decently.

We decided to take a carriage back to Nassau port since there were a few of them waiting in front of the mansion anyway. The coachman recognized Lieutenant Dangerfield and didn't ask any questions.

Inside the carriage, Lady Mary began to move closer the Jack while he made a point to move away from her, but since the space was limited, she soon had him cornered and was about to crawl on his lap.

"Get off!" He pulled a disgusted face as he shoved her away, not at all too gently. "Blast! If ye want a screw, screw yerself."

"Sparrow! I really must protest. Don't threaten Lady Mary." Dangerfield interfered but it sounded very lame.

"First, it's **Captain** Sparrow, and second, I merely gave her good advice."

I daresay this spoiled bitch wasn't used to being rejected since she pouted for a while before she approached him again, whispering something in his ear. Jack made a gesture as if shooing away an annoying fly.

"Yuk! Which part of I'm not interested ye didn't understand, wench? Leave. Me. Alone."

She did, sulking. Finally she kept her mouth shut. But Lady Mary didn't give in that easily. Since Jack wasn't cooperative she tried her luck with someone else. It made me cringe when I suddenly felt naked toes creeping up my thighs. I didn't know if she considered that to be arousing but I found it extremely repelling. Anger was boiling up inside me, a profound loathing against those bloody rich folks who thought they could get everything they wanted. Not me though. I kicked her, hard, not giving a damn whether I might hurt her as long as she would withdraw her bloody foot, which she did. For the first time I saw her scared and close to tears. It didn't bother me at all.

"Well, don't mess around with pirates." Jack commented on that scene dryly, showing no sympathy for Lady Mary but flashing me a brief smile of approval. "I thought I warned ye that Bootstrap's a dangerous man."

Dangerous? I remembered that he'd called me saviour of chickens earlier, and chuckled inwardly. However, it wouldn't harm anything if our hostages believed me to be a ruthless pirate.

Finally the carriage stopped in front of the garrison. Lieutenant Dangerfield told his subordinates that Governor Henley and his guest, the entire high society of Nassau, had been attacked by pirates, and would only be released if they handed over the chests of gold to us. I was a bit surprised because he actually sounded as if a whole gang of pirates had stormed the party instead of only Jack and me. But then again he was neither bright nor brave, so perhaps he thought there had been more pirates lurking around on Henley's property than he had seen. However, his pale face and the tears on Lady Mary's made the soldiers scurry to get us what we wanted.

Meanwhile, the clouded sky had broken up and in the moonlight we saw the Black Pearl laying at anchor in the harbour, painted in bluish-silvery shades of light and shadow that made her almost look like a ghost-ship. My heart leapt at the sight of her dark beauty but before I could return aboard I still had to carry out one last task.

The soldiers of the garrison were so kind as to help us loading the chests of gold in a longboat in order to row them over to the Pearl. At the same time, some pirates came ashore to supervise the shipment. I used the moment of chaotic bustling activity at the docks to drag Lady Mary along with me and into the dark alleys of Nassau town. If she had thought I might use the opportunity to have some fun with her, she was definitely wrong. At least I was not at all interested in screwing her, like she had probably expected. Though I didn't mind being only second choice after Jack, she wasn't my kind at all. Too snobbish and posh, manipulatively using her good name and pretty face to cover the fact that she was just an adulterous whore who believed herself irresistible. Well, perhaps a night in church, dressed only in her underwear like in penitential garments, gagged and tied, would teach her some manners.

I locked the church door and hurried back to the docks to find out that the soldiers believed Lady Mary was aboard the Pearl, being threatened by pirates. Of course I didn't tell them where she was instead. I wished though I could see the looks on their faces when they found the oversexed slut.

After all's said and done I was glad to leave Nassau's stench of decadence and corruption behind, and be at sea again. Jack spent the rest of the night at the helm trying to cover the greatest distance possible to New Providence island. We were tired and yet thrilled, but I guess it took us a while to truly grasp what we had done. It was only in the morning, when we opened the chests on deck and saw gold sparkling in the early sunshine that we finally became aware of having succeeded in one of the most spectacularly raids ever. We had managed to sack Nassau port without firing a single shot, there had been no casualties and no one was injured- well, perhaps we had wounded some pride.


	9. 8 Letter from Home

8- Letter from Home

There was only one time in my life when I actually considered quitting piracy. I thought about building a house where I could live with Claire and Will; I wanted to ask her to come to the Caribbean. But she never did and in the end it hadn't been one of my better ideas anyway.

After sacking Nassau port we thought it wise not to sail straight to Tortuga and spend our booty like pirates usually did because we feared that the Royal Navy would be searching for us there. Well, to be honest, I was the one who did the fretting while Jack couldn't have cared less. Nevertheless he gave in to my worries, claiming that I was right and that it was about time to annoy the Spaniards, so he set course for Maracaibo. It sounded as exotic to me as any other place he could have chosen since I still knew very little of the world.

We didn't get there though; I never went to Maracaibo but I did see a lot of this world. A really nasty storm came up that day, growing heavier every hour. First, Jack thought it was fun to withstand the forces of nature- and he was really good in that- nevertheless he had to surrender in the end. Just in time we made it to a quiet bay before hell really broke loose. I still remember it as the worst storm ever. However, the next morning greeted us with bright sunshine and a truly idyllic sight. In the early hours of the morning the beach looked golden, and the palm trees that rimmed it were sparkling with moist from last night's rain, rendering the natural green shade of their leaves to a diffuse, silvery-grey glimmer. Hills covered with lush tropical rain forest rose behind a handful of plain, makeshift houses, probably a fishing village. It seemed we had been stranded in paradise, and a paradise it was indeed- for smugglers. The peninsula of Samaná on the north-eastern coast of Hispaniola was inhabited by a clan of smugglers with good connections to the Spanish government in Santo Domingo, as we found out later that day.

We were greeted with great friendliness and hospitality, and I almost immediately fell in love with this place. That's when I came up with the idea to settle down and send Claire money for a passage to the Caribbean. I thought we could start anew here, where there were no laws that kept me from living with my family, where William could grow up in harmony with nature. I imagined how I would teach him to swim… and then the vision would usually fade and prove what I had not considered. Every time I looked at Jack I knew I would not be happy ashore, that his love for the sea had already rubbed off on me too much, and yet I didn't listen to my inner voice that screamed I was about to make a big mistake. But I had obligations to Claire, I owed it to her to at least give it a try.

We came to Samaná as strangers but we left it as friends, weeks later, promising Vittorio, the patriarch of the large Garcia clan, to come back one day.

My heart leapt with joy when we were back at sea and the wind filled the black sails of the Pearl. I was enthusiastic because we would sail to Tortuga; I hoped that the _Mary-Anne_ was in port so that I could send a letter to Claire, and maybe her captain also had some news from home for me.

Jack laughed about me when he saw me scanning the horizon for the familiar rocks of Tortuga, saying, "Dunno why people think I'm mad- probably 'cause they haven't met ye yet. Turning down a beautiful lass like Ynes but being jittery like a lovesick boy in expectation of a… _letter._ That, my dear William, is what I call absolutely mad."

"Call it what ye want, my dear Jack. Ye're just jealous 'cause the pretty lasses ignored ye while the only one who swore undying love to ye was a little, dirty girl..."

"Ah, Anamaria," Jack smirked in memory of the little spitfire who could beat her brothers in swearing and sailing but couldn't manage to stay clean, without bruises or torn clothes, for a single day. "aye, she has style. Too bad she was way too young for me."

"…and besides, ye know nothing 'bout the nature of serious relationships, 'bout love and faith, obligations ye willingly take 'cause ye really care 'bout someone in a way that goes beyond merely wanting to satisfy yer lust. Ye know nothing 'bout love, Jack."

"That's neither true nor fair," Jack protested in an almost sulky tone, "I definitely luv me Pearl."

To underline his words he let his hands ran over the wheel as if caressing the body of a lover, but this gesture just proved that I was right. Shaking my head I couldn't help but to laugh out loud.

"Ah Jack, ye really don't get what I'm talking about, d'ye? Ne'er mind, just take us to Tortuga fast."

I was so excited when I spotted the _Mary-Anne_ in the harbour of Tortuga, and even more, when Captain Connelly actually handed me a letter from Claire. I pressed it to my heart- overjoyed that there was finally news from home. How long had I been away from my family now? A year? No, probably it was more; I had lost count on the months. How was my little son faring? And Claire? I could have sworn that I smelled the faint and yet so familiar scent of her on the paper, reminding me of happy days in London. I couldn't wait to read what she had written.

Jack proved to be an understanding friend since he discretely slipped away to give me time and space to enjoy this moment all on me onesies, completely undisturbed. I remembered to thank him later, and opened the envelope in joyful anticipation- only to get utterly frustrated, even angry, after reading Claire's letter for the first time, and the second time didn't improve my mood either. I had hoped for some loving understanding but all I got were accusations. She accused me of being a selfish git, a coward and a weakling, for having deserted the Royal Navy, claiming that many other man had served aboard Navy vessels without complaining about the hard work or unjust captains, and that I should have stayed there for the sake of honour and patriotism, no matter what had transpired. I should have thought about them, my wife and my child, considering what my thoughtless action would mean to them.

I stared at the letter, feeling numb, then I read it a third time. The unexpected bitterness was still there as well as her lack of understanding for me, just complaining that the money I had sent her hadn't been enough. Also, she indicated that she had read between the lines that I was not merchant sailor but apparently had become a pirate, a ne'er-do-right who only cared about himself, and what she should tell her son if he asked about his daddy? She was ashamed of the truth, unable to grasp the reasons that had forced me to turn to piracy. So much for love and the promise to stand by yer man through thick and thin blah blah blah…

I crumpled up the letter in my hands as I stormed out of the cabin and onto deck, where I bumped into Jack.

"Good news from home?" He asked cheerfully.

I was not in the mood to talk about it so I threw the letter at his feet and left him standing there. I wanted to get drunk, seriously drunk, not thinking about tomorrow since tomorrow would be just another day in misery. I wanted to throw my bloody faithfulness overboard and forget about obligations. I wanted to spend my money in pirate fashion, have fun and give vent to my needs; I wanted to screw as many whores as I could and I wanted to feel wanted. After all, I was in Tortuga where, according to Jack, no man would ever feel unwanted.

I pushed open the door to the next tavern and stuck my tongue down the throat of the first wench that passed my way. It felt damned good but I wanted more, much more. I didn't waste time bargaining for the price, I just took what I wanted and the hard ride was worth every shilling. No obligations, no emotions, just pure sex. I didn't feel guilty of betraying Claire, I merely regretted that I had been chaste for too long. Then, feeling at least halfway satisfied, I concentrated on getting drunk.

The problem with trying to get drunk is that there will inevitable come a moment when you are really drunk and you start behaving like an idiot, being completely off your head. I can't remember much of what happened that night, only that I felt an unreasonable anger boiling up in me, making me want to hurt someone, anyone, because I had been hurt. And although Jack had nothing to do with me being hurt it suited me just right to screw his favourite whore, knowing that he knew what I was doing because he was constantly following me around. I hadn't asked for that. He didn't have to look after me like a bloody watch-dog since I was old enough to take care of myself. I tried to pick a fight with him for no reason at all but he wasn't willing to go into it… somehow it ended in a solid tavern brawl with me in the midst while he mysteriously managed to stay out of it.

I don't know how I got away without getting totally beaten up, or how I had finally landed in my bunk, but I still do know how miserable I felt when I woke up. The problem with trying to get drunk is not that you will most likely end up being drunk and behave like an idiot with a horrible hangover the morning after. My insides were having a party and my head was about to explode when I opened my eyes. So I closed them again, trying to recall what had happened. Some vague, blurred visions came to my mind and I decided that I didn't want to remember. I pulled the blanket over my head in order to lock out the world; it was too bloody bright anyway.

The next time I woke up it must have been late afternoon because the light falling in through the window was softer now, a dusky golden glow. I didn't mind having slept the day away as I was still far from being in the mood to get up. I wanted the world to leave me alone. Jack, however, begged to differ.

"Oh no, ye lazy sot, ye've slept long enough," I heard his velvet slur as he pulled away my blanket. I struggled to get it back, cursing him.

"Leave me alone."

Jack sat down on the bunk. If he had set his mind on something he wouldn't give up. "My my, little wonder ye hardly ever screw a wench if screwing gets ye in such a foul mood."

I decided to not reply. I just wanted him to go away, not grasping that I was probably hurting him with my lack of attention since he wasn't used to being locked out of my life, my mind. I turned my back on him.

"Piss off."

He did exactly the opposite of what I told him. Saying, "move over", he made me give way for him to squeeze himself next to me in my bunk. Damned, and I was almost glad that Jack never did what he was told. Most likely I would have felt even more miserable if he had gone. Somehow his presence was soothing, especially since had chosen to stay quiet. Instead, I suddenly felt his swift fingers moving over my head. What the hell was he doing? Then I heard a soft jingle, like the clicking of pearls, and I raised my head in suspicion.

"What- OUCH!" Never raise your head if someone's toying with your hair because it will hurt (especially when you're suffering from a killer hangover anyway). That Jack immediately let go the strand he had been toying with didn't improve the situation since hair had a different gravity when there were beads attached to it. As the result the darn thing flew straight into my face. I winced. When I opened my eyes again I saw a plait with beads dangling in front of them, it was similar to those Jack had decorated his hair with. I shot him a grim glance. "Blast, I definitely don't wanna look like yer bloody twin."

"But it does look good on ye."

To underline his words and deeds he held up the small mirror I used for shaving. I stared at my reflection, slightly shocked. Was this really me? Last night must have been worse than I had thought. The complexion of my skin was paler than usual, of an unhealthy colour, I was unshaven and my eyes were bloodshot, let alone that one was swollen. There were bruises on my face and my lower lip was split; my shirt was torn, filthy- all in all I gave a truly horrible impression. Actually the only thing that looked good on me was the stupid braid Jack had plaited in my hair.

"It doesn't really improve me looks… blast, what happened last night?"

Jack grinned. "Ye got pissed like a pirate, ye whored like a pirate, ye wrecked the tavern like a pirate- ye did nothing wrong."

"I definitely remember getting drunk," my head still reminded my of that, and then some other memories flashed up in my mind. I glanced at Jack, feeling miserable. "Oh no… I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I screwed Dolores…"

"Ah, that. Well, she's a strumpet and as a strumpet she makes her living by screwing- and ye were generous; a tad too generous mayhap given that ye told her I'd pay for ye."

I wanted to hide under my blanket since that must have slipped my memory. Great, so I had not only screwed my friend's favourite whore but also made him pay… I didn't know that I could be such an ass, apparently I had had the devil in myself last night. Jack however didn't seem to care, quite amused he told me how I had tried to pick a fight with him after he had paid my bill, which had resolved in the tavern brawl. In order to save my worthless hide from a furious mob of scallywags he had knocked me out and ordered Blake to carry me back to the Pearl. He thought that extremely funny but I couldn't laugh.

"I'm sorry," I said again but he cut me off.

"Aye, ye mentioned that and now forget about it." Jack reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that I had thrown at his feet the day before. Claire's letter. He smoothed it out before handing it back to me. "Apparently ye lost this."

We gazed at each other wordlessly for a moment. I knew that he had read it, of course he had. You don't throw a crumbled letter at somebody's feet if you want to keep its contents private, and though I might have even wanted him to read it I nevertheless felt vulnerable now.

"She's quite a bitch. I understand why ye had to give vent."

I should have defended my wife by saying that she was not a bitch, but I didn't. I felt betrayed, misunderstood, and since last night I was done with her. It hadn't been a love match anyway.

Jack misinterpreted my silence with distress and put a clumsy hand on my shoulder. "Don't bother 'bout what she wrote 'cause it's not true; she doesn't know ye at all. Ye're not a coward. Ye're a damned good pirate…"

"Now, she would definitely be pleased to hear that," I sneered.

"Well, it pays the rent and shoes for yer li'le son, doesn't it? So she should indeed be glad ye became a pirate given that the wages on naval or merchant vessels are so poor ye couldn't afford to support them."

"Why don't ye write her a letter, praisin' the advantages of a pirate's life?"

Oh no, he looked at me as if he was actually taking this in consideration, asking, "D'ye think I ought to?"

"Aye, and don't forget to mention that we'll likely end up swinging at the gallows. Women love to hear that."

"Bill," Jack sighed, getting me wrong again, chewing at his lip as if he was at a momentarily loss for words, which didn't happen very often. "listen mate, ye don't have to live this life if it doesn't suit ye. I could take ye to London, we abduct yer wife and son, and then I'll drop ye at any place ye want. What say ye?"

"No." It was then I realized what had been wrong with my stupid idea of living in Samaná since that inevitably meant having to see the Black Pearl sailing away without me. But it wasn't only the Pearl- I tried to imagine a life without this bloody bastard I called my friend and at once the world seemed to be less bright, turned into a grey and dull place, bereft of all colours. No laughter, no fun, no more sharing stolen pineapples on a Tortugan roof. No more unknown coasts waiting for us to discover… that was not what I wanted. For the first time in my life I really felt alive- well, probably not today- and I didn't want to give it up for familiar obligations. I still loved my son, he would always be in my heart, but so was the sea… and Jack. "No," I said firmly, "I'd miss ye bloody bastard."

Jack's eyes widened and he beamed all over his face as if he had forgotten to put on the mask that usually hid his emotions. Apparently my statement had taken him by surprise. Nearly inaudibly he whispered, "No one's ever said that to me."

"What? Bloody bastard? I swear I heard people calling ye that many times."

He quickly changed the topic. "So, now that ye're obviously done with dear Claire, d'ye wanna go back to Samaná and try yer luck with pretty Ynes?"

"Bah, she might be pretty but she's also the kind of woman who wants to get married and I'm done with this kind of women, I'm done with marriage."

"Glad to hear that. I do wonder though why ye married at all? Why pay attention to only one wench if ye can have 'em all? After all, ye're a handsome follow…"

I tried to explain to a rebel, who didn't give a damn about social rules, the way society ticked. But what I said sounded as lame as it was. It was considered appropriate to find yourself a girl, settle down, and have kids to care for you when you're old; it was an ongoing tradition that left no room for any pretentious dreams of breaking the habit, of **not** following the same old routine as your fathers had done. I shrugged, "Well, she was pretty, she seemed to care 'bout me, and I wanted her. That's it."

"I understand the last part," Jack gave me a frown, "though that hardly is reason enough to go so far and marry the wench ye wanna have a shag with."

"No, probably not. But in a world of social rules and restrictions, where a woman's reputation is everything, it is. After all, it had never been me plan to become a pirate… yet I've come to treasure the freedom of this life too much to give it up now. So, Capt'n, what're yer plans? Where do we sail next? I remember ye said once that ye wanted to see more of the world."

"Oh, the brothels of Paris, Arabian harems, India and the secrets of the Kamasutra," he listed with a dreamily expression on his face.

"Don't ye think ye might be a tad too oversexed? There surely must be more in the world than that. What about the pyramids of Egypt, or the Great Wall of China?"

"It's easy for ye to talk since ye had a good screw last night while I hadn't; I was merely good enough to pay for yer fun which left me ending up all on me onesies and deeply unsatisfied." Jack shot me an offended glance though it didn't take long and he smiled again, elbowing me in a benevolent gesture. "Anyway, no offence taken. Ye know I'm a generous man and as a generous man I'm willing to share with me best friend."

"Ta- it almost makes me feel special if I didn't know that I'm yer only friend."

"See, and exactly that makes ye special indeed." He rendered my speechless for a moment, casually continuing with our previous topic. "Aye, I'd love to see the pyramids too. And the channels of Venice- imagine there's a town where ye need a boat to get around! Of course, the Pearl's probably too tall to sail from tavern to tavern and on to the next brothel but anyway. Then we'll sail to Africa and watch strange beasts like hippopotami, or giraffes. Oh, and did ye know that there's a desert that reaches to the sea? We'll sail 'round the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, to the Indian Ocean…"

His enthusiasm was infectious although I was still kind of groggy from last night's debauchery. But who could remain uninspired in face of Jack's adventurously sparkling eyes or the way he could go into raptures about all the seas he wanted to sail, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, the South and East China Sea, the Pacific Ocean. He talked about exotic places we would visit, like Bombay, Malacca, Shanghai, Ceylon; we'd see thousands of island, unknown coasts as well as the infamous pirate havens of Madagascar and Singapore. He sounded more like an explorer planning his next expedition and less like a pirate, though piracy was definitely on his mind too.

"Have ye ever heard of the Strait of Malacca, Bill? Heavily frequented by stinking rich spice traders with their pretty little vessels just waiting for honest pirates to plunder them. Doesn't that sound terrific?"

I lay on my back and listened, thinking of how great it would be to visit all these places at Jack's side, sharing our first impressions and more profound thoughts. Life was great, goodbye Claire. I simply wasn't a family man- I wanted **all** that life could offer and not only a small part of it.

The next morning we left Tortuga and set sails for more adventures.

-

Our first stopover was the Bermuda Islands, where we stored more supplies for crossing the Atlantic Ocean. From that day on the temperature began to drop, the wind was getting colder and the sea heavier. Dark clouds covered the sky; it started to rain and didn't stop for many days in a row.

One particularly nasty day I checked the compass before taking over the helm from Blake, and noticed that we were completely off course since we were heading further north than we should have. I chided him, even accused him of being inattentive, but Blake claimed that he was merely following the captain's order, and that the course was correct if we wanted to get to England. Actually he made me feel like an inexperienced sailor who had never crossed the Atlantic before, which was to a certain point right since I definitely lacked his experience. Nevertheless I frowned. England? When and why had Jack decided to sail to England; what stupid idea had gotten into my friend's thick head now? Without really knowing his reasons- but being quite sure that I had figured him out- I made shameless use of my position as first mate and changed the bloody course.

Blake gave me a puzzled glance.

"Yep, I'm spoiling his plans. We wanted to see Venice, the pyramids, Africa, sail the Asian Seas. We had agreed on that- not on any kind of sentimental family reunion. I know what he's up to and I do appreciate his well meant attempt, but it's not what I want. Savvy?"

Blake raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "No offence, Bootstrap, as long as ye'll take the blame for disregarding our captain's order."

I shrugged. "Me thinks I can deal with him."

"Aye," he grinned at me, "if anyone can, it's ye. Thick as thieves ye are, like peas in a pod."

I didn't know whether I should have taken this as a compliment but in lack of any better option I did.

It was amazing, but when Jack popped up on deck a couple of hours later he immediately noticed the change of course as if he could smell it in the air. Irritated he came scampering up the stairs to the afterdeck. I managed to take the wind out of his sails though.

"Don't be mad at me, Jack- 'twas a good attempt but it won't work."

"Hm, an' I thought ye'd like to get a chance to see yer son again. Even if ye're done with his mother we could still abduct him…"

"No," I cut him off, "though I'd love to see him again, I definitely don't want me little boy to live a pirate's life, no matter how much **I** like it. But he's too young for it, and besides, there are still so many chances left for him to chose what **he** wants to make of his life; I don't wanna rob him of that and have him worrying 'bout ending at the gallows before he grows old enough to even understand what I have landed him in. So I'd rather not see him again."

Jack turned up the collars of his coat, shuddering involuntarily. "I'm glad ye said that 'cause it's already damned cold. England must be an awfully unfriendly place."

Well, compared to the Caribbean it was. I told Jack about cold, grey and wet English winters, of endless days of rain or sleet, and we agreed to sail to warmer regions just like we had planned.

We never made it to Venice or the pyramids of Egypt though. Actually we never sailed the Mediterranean Sea due to an incident that happened in Cadiz, where Jack seduced the daughter of a Spanish nobleman and stole her ring which made her father foaming with anger. He promised to hunt us down so we had to make a hasty escape to the North African coast and the Moroccan town of Tangier. Alas, Jack managed to land us into trouble once again by causing mayhem in the harem of a sheik, so we had to make another hasty escape. Life with Jack was everything but boring.

Next we sailed along the West African shore but what we got to see there was nothing Jack had expected. Most of the ports we passed on our way down south were trading centres of European colonists, and the goods they shipped were human beings; the slave trade was the most lucrative business in Africa. Although we knew that, Jack was utterly shocked when after seizing a Portuguese vessel he had to find out that its cargo were Negro slaves, men, women, even children, crammed together in the hold like cattle. Of course he set them free- as a man who treasured freedom more than anything he absolutely loathed slavery. Hiding his emotions behind a mask of indifference he gave orders to take them ashore and to lock the Portuguese in the hold instead. Then he announced that the hippopotami won't get the chance to meet Captain Jack Sparrow before he vanished to his cabin.

Some of the crew laughed, thinking their mad captain had just cracked a joke, but I knew him better. He wouldn't show how miserable this made him feel because he was a pirate, and as a pirate he'd drown his conscience, his sympathy in a bottle of rum, trying to get numb. I found him sitting on the floor in a corner of his cabin, clutching the bottle in his shaking hands. He didn't look up but he didn't seem to mind my presence either so I sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. We sat there in silence, both shocked about men who traded the lives of others for profit's sake. Ironically they called themselves Christians and built pretty churches wherever they settled in order to proselytise the heathens they enslaved and whose land they stole.

Jack didn't have to give reasons why there would be no shore leave along the African coast and though I understood him his decision didn't improve the mood aboard. We were short of supplies due to our hasty flights from Cadiz and Tangier, and it was up to me to mediate. He wouldn't set a foot in a town that lived from trading slaves but the crew wanted to live too- we definitely **needed** fresh drinking water and food. So we made a quick stopover to replenish our provisions but without the usual pleasures of a shore leave, then we continued our voyage, heading southwards to the Cape of Good Hope.

The more south we went the less slave trading towns we passed, and as a result the number of ships exporting human goods to the new world decreased as well. Jack began to enjoy the voyage again when we sailed past the impressive dunes of the Namib Desert. In Cape Town he even went ashore and we had a great time, but most thrilling for him was to sail around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean. A couple of days later we reached the island of Madagascar, a famous pirate haven, where we stayed for a while.

In Madagascar we had our first encounter with strange looking African beasts during our trips to the hinterland but all in all Jack didn't like the attitude of his fellow pirates there. They had established a variety of bases on the island, enclaves called Ranter Bay, Saint Augustine's Bay, Réunion Island, Fort Dauphin or Île Sainte Marie, each under the control of a single pirate captain who liked to be referred to as a king, and acting like a bloody king they did. Also, they didn't see anything wrong in the slave trade as they considered Negroes merely as Black Gold.

Quite fed up with their attitude we left Madagascar and headed towards Asia…

**author's note:** don't worry- I won't abandon this story even though it will take a while until my next update. I can't write about the Asian adventures of Jack and Bill without proper research so I have to travel there. Expect my next update at the end of February and don't forget to review- I love feedback.

Thanks to ellenar for beta reading


	10. 9 Pirates of the Asian Seas

I'm back. Travelling Asia was inspiring- here is the result. Hope you like it.

* * *

chapter 9- Pirates of the Asian Seas

At first glance the Asian shores didn't look much different than the places we already knew. There were snow white beaches, palm trees, hills covered with tropical rain forest in the Caribbean too; even the African coast had looked similar except for the dunes of the Namib dessert, and the Sea was blue everywhere. What differed were the towns we passed along our way.

In the Caribbean there wasn't anything authentic anymore since the Spaniards had done a thorough job in proselytising the natives and wiping them out in the progress. All the islands were now inhabited by either Spanish, Dutch, French or English colonists who had founded trading ports that resembled the towns where they had come from, so depending to which island you went you had little Spain, Holland, France or England only in tropical surrounding.

Of course, there was also a significant influence of Europeans in Asia due to the demands for spices, silk and other goods. Though they had come here for trading reasons they sometimes behaved like usurpers instead, trying to impose their own legislation on those who had allowed them to settle here in the first place, trying to proselyte these heathens. And yet they needed them since no fine lord wanted to dirty his delicate fingers with picking pepper or other spices, and they didn't want to weave the silk either- they wanted to make profit.

Fortunately there were still many places that had never seen any European, and those were the places we liked best. For more than a year we sailed the Asian Seas from India to China as if we were explorers, driven by curiosity what we'd discover next, always heading for the next bay, the next port.

We saw women wearing colourful saris in India, temples of weird looking Hindu deities with many arms or elephant heads, and the air was heavy with the scent of spices. That was the face of India we liked but we also got to know the ugly face of it, presented by the East India Trading Company and their most ambitious employee, a certain Sir Charles Beaufort. He was the rising star, about to become the president of the Bombay factory. His aim was to free the seas from pirates and to control all the trading routes.

When we first arrived there, coming from Madagascar, Jack didn't have a reputation as a pirate- at least not in the Asian Seas. Actually we had acted more like explorers and less like pirates lately so there wasn't any reason to fear the authorities- well, at least not as long as Jack managed to stay out of trouble and avoided causing mayhem.

We met Charles Beaufort at the docks only moment after having made berth. His steel-blue eyes scrutinized the Black Pearl all over as well as every man who went ashore. Then he approached me of all people to tell me that Bombay was a decent port and he expected us to behave appropriately- whatever that meant for I surely wasn't the one likely to cause trouble. Jack merely gave him a cold sneer.

Then Beaufort glanced at the Pearl again and actually had the nerve to offer me a cargo of spices for shipment to England. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about his offer and Jack even less.

"Bugger, this is a decent pi"

I cut him off, elbowing him before he could say _pirate ship_. "What my captain wanted to say is that we're inconsolably sorry for having to disincline yer polite request but we're on an expedition to… um, to make maps of the Asian Seas." I lied bluntly, without even blinking an eye- there were many things I had learned from Jack, and being able to bend the truth a little was one I was particularly proud of.

"Your captain?" Beaufort shot Jack a puzzled glance, estimating him far too young to captain a ship. But then he smiled at him, absent-mindedly licking his lips. "Well you truly have a beautiful ship, Captain…"

"I know," Jack replied matter-of-factly without giving him his name, backing away from those calculative blue eyes still gazing at him until he bumped into me and pulled my arm to drag me away. I wouldn't say he was scared of Beaufort but the fellow definitely made him nervous, otherwise he would have proudly introduced himself as Captain Jack Sparrow.

"So, and you are _cartographers_?"

"Aye. And we have a very important… um, cartographer's meeting… now," he said, sounding urgent. Nevertheless he took his time to sketch a bow at Beaufort. "So sorry mate, but we gotta scamper."

Although Jack usually felt flattered by those who admired his ship, for the Black Pearl definitely was an extraordinary vessel, he had recognized at once that Beaufort wasn't really into dark ladies and the look he had given him just gave him the spooks. Shuddering he turned to me when we were out of hearing distance.

"My, what a creepy fellow… reminds me of those who- ah, never mind," he shrugged off what he essentially wanted to say and carried on ranting about Beaufort's offer as if it had been an immoral one. "What does he think he is, offering an honest pirate the job of a bloody merchant. Damned, as if I'd ever work for such a… snobbish li'le wanker. He's offending me believing I'd become sort of a respectable merchantman. Are there no decent people in this town? I wouldn't even mind taking on a smuggler's job but I'll definitely never work for this damnable Company!"

Chuckling I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, unable to imagine that Jack Sparrow would ever become a decent guy- he was every inch a bloody scallywag who would never change his ways, and yet I loved him just for being so unwaveringly in his wicked ways. I didn't notice that Beaufort was still watching us from a distance since that very moment a sedan carried by four men passed by and stopped. The curtains covering the passenger inside moved a little and a slender arm waved at us, several golden bracelets sparkling in the sun, jingling, beckoning us to come closer while at the same time a lackey approached us, informing us that Lady Ashanti wanted to have a word with us concerning business affairs.

"Why does everyone in this bloody town think me services are for sale? I'm not purchasable!" Jack snorted indignantly and stepped- despite of the protests of those carrying the sedan- closer to take a look inside, which almost caused a ruckus. Nevertheless, what he saw made him change his mind. "Oh well, maybe I am…"

That's how we met Lady Ashanti, a truly beautiful young lass of only seventeen years but already married and mother of a little son, the heir of a respectable and very successful trading dynasty. She invited us to her house where she introduced us to her husband- a man more than trice her senior, looking like her grandfather, and strangely marked by an incurable disease that had rendered him into a helplessly babbling wreck of a man. She treated him kindly, saw to it that he was well-fed by her servants and addressed him with great respect that was most likely faked since it didn't keep her from flirting shamelessly with Jack. No one was saying it, no one could prove it, but I always believed her husband's poor state was her doing. If so, she had arranged it very cleverly. As long as he was still alive she could not be married again but could run his business the way she wanted it, holding all the strings in her delicate little hands until her son would be old enough to take over. Thus, she was one of Bombay's most important merchants now, whereas as a widow she wouldn't have achieved anything except becoming _sati_. Maybe that was her way of taking revenge for having been married to an old man she didn't love.

We stayed for the night. I slept alone in a heavenly comfortable bed covered with silken sheets while Jack… um, still had business to discuss with the Lady. The next morning he had a broad smile on his face, mumbling only one word to me: _Kamasutra_. I didn't know what the heck he was about and what that had to do with us smuggling booze and tobacco to Goa but apparently her Ladyship had twisted him round her little finger that night.

Later he told me about the mysteries of Kamasutra which meant he probably had the screw of his life- which I didn't begrudge him, but we still had a shipload to take to Goa and the East India Trading Company didn't like private traders. When the first East India charter was signed into law and thus a royal monopoly created, all private traders had become outlaws, smugglers. Anyhow, I shrugged off this thought, there was no ship that could match the Black Pearl in speed.

We delivered our cargo in Goa, got decently paid, and headed for the Andaman Sea then, leaving India behind.

-

There were thousand of islands in the Andaman Sea. They seemed to appear out of the mist on the horizon as we sailed along the Siamese coast, shapeless at first but gaining structure and colour the closer we came. Some were not more than a rock that raised out of the sea, steep limestone cliffs towering up a hundred feet in height or more crowned with green of whatever plants could grow on such a rough ground, and yet these rocks seemed to be fertile. Others were rimmed with sandy beaches and covered with lush vegetation, coconut palms and many different fruit-trees, actually there was fruit in abundance. Most of the islands were not inhabited but on some fishermen had settled, and there was an important trading port for tin on Ujong Thalang where also some Europeans lived.

Further south we met the Moken, a tribe of sea nomads who roamed the Andaman Sea on rafts or outrigger boats, going fishing and pirating for their living. After having settled the first problems between us- like showing them our colours and making unmistakably clear that we were not easy prey- we got on pretty well, so we sailed with them for a while. Those were easy days; we drifted to wherever the current would take us and made berth in calm bays. There was a maze of islands, coves or caves where we could hide from the unfriendly eyes of the East India Company, and every day our table was set widely with seafood, rice and fresh fruit. In the evenings Jack and I would lie on the afterdeck, listening to the exotic melodies of their music, the sky above sparkling with stars. We understood their songs if not by word but by heart, for after all the differences between us we came to recognize that we were very much alike. Like them, we were _Chao 'le_, people of the sea, for the sea was in our blood and our ship was our home, only that the Pearl was a castle, a fortress compared to their small boats. And like them, we were restless always longing for new horizons to discover, so one day we left our new found friends and continued our voyage.

We sailed to Malacca, named after the tree under which- according to legends- a prince had rested while hunting when one of his dogs had annoyed a white mouse deer but the deer had annoyed it in return by kicking it into the river. Strangely the prince had considered this a good omen to found his kingdom at this place, and in the end he was right since Malacca became a prospering trading port that attracted merchants from China, Siam, India, Persia, Arabia… of course the Europeans took wind of it and wanted their share too, so first the Portuguese conquered Malacca, pissing off everyone with their crusading spirit, and then the Dutch took it from them, also failing to become overly popular with the 'Straits-people'. Their one-sided trading arrangements and restrictions kept many merchants away while imposing heavy taxes was the best way to attract smugglers who knew of ways to avoid these taxes. The Malay sultans had been a tad more clever, actually.

Nevertheless, Malacca was still fun since it was a melting pot of all different cultures and religions, where you could find a Hindu shrine, a mosque and a Buddhist temple all in one road. And last but not least, there was the famous Strait of Malacca- ever since the early days of maritime trade the favourite playground for pirates. So many vessels sailed these waters that sometimes it was hard to decide which one to seize and plunder.

We had a great time amusing and raiding merchants, and were just on our way to Singapore to spend our booty, when we heard a distant thundering. Jack looked up to a cloudless blue sky before he changed our course, barking orders to trim the sails. Above us yards creaked as they were adjusted to our new course and black canvas clattered in the wind. Swells of spray flew up from the Pearl's bow as she headed for something only Jack could see, but after a while all of us spotted clouds of smoke billowing just ahead of us.

It had become a nasty habit of merchantmen to hire an armed escort when sailing the Strait of Malacca, and apparently a bunch of local pirates had run into a trap with their boats, two small junks plus a couple of one masted launches. The warship, a frigate running the flag of the East India Company, didn't scruple to fire at vessels that were no match for her since only the two junks had some low-range cannons. It would be just a matter of time until the pirates were defeated, sent to the dark oblivion of Davy Jones' locker.

Although Jack wasn't much into unnecessary bloodshed- he liked to avoid armed confrontations and rather relied on his wits- but when he saw helpless fellow pirates being attacked by a frigate he didn't hesitate to interfere.

"Let's amuse them a bit," he hissed through clenched teeth, then he bellowed. "Mr Matthews, run up our colours please! Gunners, stand by to give 'em a warning shot."

Almost on collision course the Pearl approached the frigate- _Bombay Sapphire_ I read on her escutcheon- firing her bow chasers. Water splashed up ahead of _Bombay'_s bow but aboard the warship they were still too busy bombing little boats to pieces to take notice of us.

Jack was annoyed; he left the helm to a burly lad called Duncan to direct the attack and I stood by to respond instantly when he called or raised his arm to signal. The entire working deck was on alert now, learning why the capt'n had ran us through all those drills he liked to repeat on a regularly basis.

Compared to a Royal Navy warship or even a merchant vessel, the standards aboard the Pearl were lax. There was no classification, no distinction between officers, midshipmen or simple tars but an equal share for everyone and yet everyone knew their position.

"Helm! Hard a' starboard now!"

The Pearl shook and crested a wave when the rudder came around. For a moment she leaned hard over as she turned tightly, sheeting bright spray from her hull. Her timbers shuddered and groaned in protest but eased when the yards above swung into new position.

"Gunners, fire as she bears! Aim at their rigging- mind, we don't wanna sink them, just irritate them!"

"Aye, Capt'n!" Blake responded, grinning broadly.

We were in shooting range now. Late, much too late the crew of _Bombay _reacted, her captain obviously overtaxed with the change of situation and besides, there wasn't much he could have done anyway. The frigate's sails fluttered uselessly; she had come wind-locked and motionless. Obviously they had expected an easy job by sinking some small pirate vessels but were now confronted with a warship that bared its teeth. Probably it was just like what the pirates must have felt when the frigate had launched upon them like a bird of prey.

While part of her crew scampered to ready their starboard cannons, thunder roared and heavy iron balls punched holes into their sails. Men screamed and wreckage flew as her main mast came down.

Meanwhile, Jack had given new orders to confuse the _Bombay_ completely. The Pearl did a smart come-about through the wind and circled the frigate's stern, then changed tack again to stand between the East India Company vessel and the fleeting pirates. We were so close now that we could see the staring faces aboard, hear their cursing. Jack spotted Charles Beaufort himself among them, raised his hat and waved.

"Ho, Randy Charly! Have a nice day!"

I felt the urgent desire to knock him out. It was not wise to annoy the guy Lady Ashanti had insistently warned him of and it was even less wise to go boasting with knowing Beaufort's secret- the fine gentlemen wasn't called Randy Charly without a reason…

"Hands to the sheets! Trim to the wind!" I barked, eager to get away from here. Fortunately, we had the weather gauge whereas the frigate was still dead in the water, wind-locked and now also crippled. But she still had teeth as the glinting muzzle of her big guns reminded me. Thundering they threw up spray in our wake; only one ball managed to break a yard of our rail.

As soon as our attack had started it ended and we sailed on, heading for the merchant vessel the local pirates had tried to plunder before the frigate had spoiled their plans. Apparently they had recovered from the shock because they tried to beat us to the merchant now. Ungrateful pack! Of course the Pearl was faster than any of their small boats and since we didn't know whether these pirates were merely bold or downright bloodthirsty cutthroats we commandeered the merchant, taking the crew and passengers hostage- just for safety reasons. They weren't very pleased, and we were quite glad to get rid of them in Singapore.

Ah, Singapore, the infamous pirate haven, bustling with all sorts of shady activities, where you could buy or sell everything from smuggler ware to honestly stolen booty. The Chinese merchants living there asked no questions and the local fishermen couldn't care less. There were taverns and brothels everywhere just like in Tortuga but unlike Tortuga there where also bathhouses and massage parlours which again were often part of the brothels. Thus, the strumpets were also a lot cleaner than in Tortuga. Jack, however, was much more fascinated by the fact that they wore simple silk dresses instead of complicated layers of clothing you had to peel them out of before having fun, and especially he loved the lack of corsets. Well, that was Jack and it was little surprise he instantly fell in love with Singapore.

On our second evening there, after having relaxed in one of the bathhouses, we were sitting in our favourite tavern, drinking expensive cheap rum, when suddenly the door burst open and a ragged looking fellow stormed in, fiercely gazing around. Everyone fell silent in awe except for Jack who didn't even look up

"Who's this dark demon of a ship belonging to?" The fellow barked. He was a Chinaman, slant eyed, not overly tall but solid built, with strong biceps that he liked to show for no shirt covered his naked chest. His head was shaven except for a long, braided plait that reached from the back of his head to his hips. In his belt he carried two curved sables plus a pair of pistols. Calloused hands identified him as a seaman, most likely a pirate given his fierce appearance.

"If ye're implying to the most beautiful ship this poor harbour has ever seen, well, the pretty lady's mine." Jack said matter-of-factly although he couldn't hide a certain pride in his voice.

"Ah, and who are you, you funny little geezer?"

"Strange, I was just 'bout to ask ye the same."

"You don't know who **I** am?"

"If I did would I ask ye then?" Jack asked innocently.

For a long moment they glared at each other like two prized fighting cocks ruffling their feathers, ready to pick a fight, while I prepared myself to prevent that from happening. Then, all of a sudden, the Chinaman laughed out loud and offered Jack his hand.

"Well, you really are a funny little geezer but you amuse me, and besides, I believe thanks are in order…"

"For amusing ye?"

"Blast! It's hard enough having to admit that I owe you for saving me and my men from ending up as cannon fodder for the bloody British invaders that are trying to control our seas, where the ancestors of my ancestors had already sailed, so please don't make it worse, longnose…"  
"Captain."

"What the hell…"

"It's **Captain** Jack Sparrow, savvy?"

"Never heard of you before but well, mark that I am Xing-Ill Chen, commander of an old-established pirate fleet. They call me Chen the Dragon."

"Consider it marked, mate… though I do wonder- just a tad, of course- whether that old dragon might have lost its bite, 'cause- don't get me wrong now- it seems to me that running head over heels into a trap like that we had to get ye out of…"

_Oh please, shut up now. Don't ye see that ye're driving him up the wall?_ I thought when Chen cut Jack off by grabbing him at his collar to give him a good shaking. I let it happen because he probably had deserved it but watched the two of them closely to interfere should things get out of control. Fortunately this Chen was a humorous scallywag since he let go of my friend and captain after having hissed something in his ear I couldn't overhear, then he ordered drinks for all.

"A toast to the funny little geezer, this birdie called Captain Jack Sparrow!" He roared as he gulped down his drink, patted Jack's shoulders and took a leave.

This was the first time we made the acquaintance of Xing-Ill Chen, the infamous Chinese pirate, and though we didn't meet him again during our stay in Singapore it wouldn't be the last time we met.

Another interesting- and long-lasting- acquaintance we made was with Mister Wu, a tattoo artist. There were many tattoo shops in Singapore just like in almost every port of this world where sailors could get their name inked into their skin in case they forget it during an excessive shore leave. Well, I already had a couple of tattoos collected on our way from the Caribbean to Asia but unlike Jack, who was quite contended with the one he had, I couldn't get enough. Call it an obsession if you want. Mayhap it was my way of showing that I definitely had broken up with my former life, that of a family man, mayhap I was just like Jack collecting memories, only that he braided them into his hair while I preferred to wear them on my skin.

When I first met Mister Wu he merely arched a disapproving brow at the maritime motifs on my forearms, tsked, and ignored my request of what I wanted him to do. Instead, he told me in Chinese what I would get. Since I didn't speak any Chinese then our discussion was a useless one, nevertheless I stayed and let him have his way for curiosity reasons. The result was a prancing tiger so perfectly done it almost looked alive. Then Mister Wu told me in flawless English that a tiger was what he saw in me, a tiger's heart, and he asked me to come back one day because there was even more that he saw. I thanked him for his effort but wasn't sure whether I really wanted to deliver myself in his hands again. Mind, he truly was a master of his art but his way of persuasion was… um, unusual at least. Anyway, I did come back, and the next time he started to outline the shape of a dragon spread all over my back which took years to finish- but I'm leaping ahead now.

After an extensive stay in Singapore we sailed the Gulf of Siam and up the Menam Chao Praya, the great river. Along its banks throbbed the heart of Siamese life. We passed a fertile plain with rice paddies; people lived in wooden houses on stilts, bartering their goods by boat, excited to see foreigners. We also passed a Dutch factory and settlement called Little Amsterdam where ships from their colonies unloaded their cargo. Strangely, we managed to not get into trouble with the VOC, the Vereinigde Oostindische Compagnie- sort of a rivalling equivalent to the British East India Company.

The Siamese were tolerant people, they had invited other nations to come and trade, allowing them to practice their own religion. But, unlike other Asian countries, Siam was not under any European rule- though there was probably no country that did not turn greedy eyes on the possibility of a monopoly in trade. Unfortunate for them, the Siamese king was a canny one who knew of ways to prevent that from happening.

Then we reached Ayutthaya. Venice of the East it was called for its location on an island where three rivers met, crisscrossed by a maze of channels. From the distance you could see the glittering of more than three hundred golden pagodas of temples which splendour stood in contrast to the simple structure of wooden houses that lines the streets, the scent of incense lingering in the air.

I loved it there. Actually I had come to love Asia in general, it had been an instant fascination. Never before had I met so wonderful, so friendly people with such a serene attitude, who always greeted you with a smile and who liked to laugh. They could laugh about themselves as well as they laughed about others, always cheerful, never cynical. Wherever we went they came to take a look at us, curious like children since most of them had never seen any Europeans… and if they had then certainly never anyone as outlandish as Jack with his felted braids and jingling beads.

I also loved the Buddhist temples and the peaceful atmosphere when you walked in, leaving the heat and everything that troubled you behind. I liked talking to the monks- they were so different than those I knew, and so was their religion which intrigued me though I'd never been an overly religious man. Jack seemed to be interested too for he accompanied me most of the time when I went to see a temple. On the other hand, there were often some monkeys around and he loved watching them. Have you ever seen Jack climbing up the rigging or dangling in the shrouds? Well, there definitely was a certain similarity between them, and the little beasts were damned clever too…

Ah, and let's not forget the Asian women- so beautiful to behold, slender and gracious as they were with their long, dark hair. Until then I had believed I was into blondes like Claire but the Asian women proved me wrong for I constantly seemed to fall in love. Soon I had a girl waiting for me in every port we dropped anchor which amused Jack so much he couldn't stop mocking me about it. I just laughed at him and enjoyed pleasant company without further obligations.

Another thing that amused Jack was my knack for the Asian tongues, the singsong tones and subtle nuances, whereas I had proven to be a total failure when he had tried to teach me some French. He merely shook his head in bewilderment the day he heard me ordering dinner at one of these little hot food stalls at Ayutthaya's night market- a wonderful thing by the way… they opened in dozens at sunset, selling everything that's tasty and spicy, and we tried it all, even fried grasshoppers. Well, Jack would wolf down whatever it was when he was hungry- must had to do with his childhood as street urchin in Tortuga- but I wasn't sure about having roasted insects again…

Life was wonderful. Did I miss my family? No, not really, although I thought about Will occasionally and sent letters to him, but actually my family was the Pearl, her crew and, of course, Jack. Most of all Jack. It was strange, although most people considered Captain Jack Sparrow as a selfish man, too full of himself- alright, that he definitely was- he could be quite the contrary once he had come to like and, even more important, to trust someone. Then he was the best friend you could ever wish for, generous, caring, and a constant source of inspiration. Blame it on the hard and dangerous pirate's life that he had developed what I called some healthy egoism because it surely was better to be safe than sorry.

We were nigh inseparable these days, thick as thieves, sharing almost everything. 'Peas in a pod' I heard the crew saying about us sometimes and yet it wasn't like that either. Though we were much alike we were still different, different personalities with different points of view, and that was damned good because otherwise it would have been dead boring. I'd never want to miss the opportunity of having a witty, inspiring, sometimes even heated discussion with Jack. We could debate for hours and in the end agree to disagree, and that was probably the best thing about my friendship with him- he never tried to change me or my point of view; he respected me just the way I was.

We sailed all along the Asian shores, passing sandy beaches, fishing villages, bizarrely formed limestone cliffs, offshore islets, mangrove forests, and trading ports. We were on the way to China although the Chinamen seemed to be everywhere, having established merchant bases long before the first European had ever come to discover the variety of possibilities the Asian market had to offer, ranging from exotic spices over tea and silk to a vast amount of mineral resources like tin.

We saw many interesting places and met a lot of interesting people, but the most impressive thing I got to see on our voyage was the Great Wall of China. I had only mentioned it once, a long time ago, and yet Jack had not forgotten about it. Though most of it was too far inland for his liking he had found out that the eastern end of the wall ran straight into the Bohai Sea, an inner gulf of the Yellow Sea, and therefore able to be reached by ship, so he had decided to surprise me with a spectacular view. Keeping things secret he woke me one morning to watch the sun rise over what was called _the Old Dragon's Head_. Fascinated I stared at the glittering spray of waves crashing against a huge and ancient stone wall, overviewed by the shadow of a watchtower. Then Jack bribed some soldiers with plundered English silver to let us take a walk on the wall, all the way from the sea to the Shanhaiguan Pass, also known as _the First Pass under Heaven_ by the Chinese. It definitely was an unforgettable experience.

I would have loved to go on but I knew that Jack would feel uncomfortable when being away from the sea for too long, and, of course, there was also the crew to be considered. It was about time to do some honest pirating again for they wanted to see something more shiny than old stone walls, the chedis of temples or the saffron garb of a Buddhist monk. So we decided to return to Singapore.

A fresh, steady wind granted perfect sailing weather; the sails were all trimmed, canvas drumming, shrouds singing, timbers humming as the Pearl crested the waves, fountains of spray glittering at her bow. Alas, the good weather didn't last forever- it never did at sea. Dark clouds came up, bringing rain. Soon it became evident that this was not going to be the typical Asian shower, heavy but short and warm. I looked at Jack, who was frowning, and I knew that it would be really nasty.

"Secure the hatches! Reef the main sails!" He turned to me and asked me to take over the helm so that he could take a look at his charts in order to find us a safe place to sit out the upcoming storm.

The Pearl's sound changed from singing to groaning as the wind increased, rattling her rigging. Nevertheless, it didn't turn out as bad as Jack had expected- or perhaps he had instinctively altered the course so that the gale did not hit us in all its extreme because in the end all that happened was the unfortunate loss of a few barrels of drinking water. One might think now that pirates didn't need water anyway since all they ever drank was rum, but that wasn't true. You can't sail a ship completely drunk; you need a clear head if you have to climb up the shrouds, furling or unfurling the sails, because otherwise you'll soon find yourself flat on the planks with a broken neck. Life at sea was rough, no doubt about it and no matter how much I had come to like it.

The next port to get our much needed supplies was Macao, originally a Chinese settlement but like so many others situated at important trading routes it was governed by Europeans now- or, to be more precisely, by the Portuguese… bloody catholic, crusading folks they were, and I prayed that Jack wouldn't land us in trouble there.

Well, **he **didn't- instead it was Johnny for a change.

Apparently the lad had taken something from a market stall without bothering to pay for it. Nothing's wrong with that if you did it smartly and do **not** get caught in the act, but dear Johnny had failed to remember that lesson. At once everybody called 'hold the thief' and what did the stupid boy do? Right, he came running straight to me, seeking protection. I cursed him silently as I opened my arms wide and grinned at his pursuers. Damned! Where was Jack when I needed him?

_Jack had left the tiresome matter of organising supplies to his trustworthy first mate and taken a stroll though Macao, feeling itchy and desperately in need for a good, quick shack with a pretty lass. He had gotten what he wanted, had drunken a few mugs of beer while being in the market, when he suddenly bumped into someone he had last expected here. Blonde, steel-blue eyes, very British looking._

_"Well, well, if that is not the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow… pleased to meet you, Jack."_

_Jack winced at the sound of Beaufort's voice, definitely not pleased to meet him. Faking a smile he backed away from him but didn't get far. Beaufort had cornered him in a dead end alley._

_"Easy, Jack..."_

_"Captain, it's **Captain** Jack Sparrow."_

_"Of course, **Captain**. Now don't worry, I'm not here to arrest you…"_

_Jack chuckled since that was mighty unlikely anyway. First, they were in a Portuguese port where the British East India Company had no authority, second, Randy Charly was here on his own, and third, you needed more than one man to catch Captain Jack Sparrow. He didn't fear the agent but felt kind of uncomfortable in his presence._

_"…actually, I don't even bear a grudge against you although you gave me every reason when you almost sank my ship. You offended me."_

_"Sorry mate, bad habit of mine and unfortunately unchangeable. Ye could also say it's in me nature." Jack quipped as he tried to push past Beaufort, who quickly blocked his way._

_"Not so hasty. I admire a sailor with such terrific skills like yours. We could reach an agreement that is suitable for both of us if you were a little more… um, obliging." Beaufort leaned closer to Jack- men smelling like a lavender field were highly suspicious to him, and he felt more and more uncomfortable. The fellow made him nervous._

_"I like you, Jack."_

_Exactly that was what Jack had feared all the time, given Randy Charly's reputation and the way he looked at him; it was the same look he would give a strumpet he wanted to screw._

_"I feel flattered."_

_"I want you."_

_Beaufort stared at him as if he was something delicious, like a forbidden fruit, but Jack preferred not to be devoured. However, it wasn't wise to offend him or turn him down in a rude way because there might come a moment when he could make use of Beaufort's obvious affection._

_"Now, about the wanting part- I know that I'm nigh irresistible but unfortunately my reputation and yer reputation don't seem to coincide in this matter, which means that I have to decline yer most humble request…"_

_"It wasn't a request," Beaufort cut him off, "It was a demand. And I'm used to getting what I want."_

_"Sounds familiar to me, mate." Suddenly the sounds of a tumult at the market square made them both turn around. "What's going on there?"_

_"I," Charles Beaufort broke off, cursing silently when he noticed that the handsome young pirate captain had just escaped him, slipping through his arms. Very smart. Although he usually preferred younger pets he nevertheless liked them smart, and Jack Sparrow was very enamouring in the way he played the odd cat and mouse game with him, playing hard to get. But he would get him in the end. Until then he would have to still his dark desire elsewhere while lusting for his exquisite, exotic pirate._

_"Sorry, Randy Charly- couldn't resist to resist ye. Maybe next time." Jack chirped as he disappeared in the crowd of Portuguese soldiers. _

"Ye didn't say that," I gasped when Jack told me of his unexpected meeting with Beaufort, "it's like encouraging this bloody wanker to keep going after ye."

"But I did escape him." Jack stressed cheerfully- way too cheerful for a man sitting behind the iron bars of a Portuguese prison.

"Escape? By ending up in a goddamn dungeon with the prospect of swinging at the gallows come morrow?" I pointed at the walls around us and snapped, "How weird is that?"

What had happened? Jack had arrived just in time to get arrested with me, offering no resistance since that seemed to have been part of his brilliant plan in escaping Beaufort only that that would take us straight to the gallows. I could almost feel the noose around my neck tightening while he was absolutely careless, cocksure and cheerful. Oh- by the way- little Johnny, whom we had to thank this mess we were in now, had managed to flee in the havoc he had caused. Thanks a lot, lad. If I ever got out of here alive I would definitely give him a good beating. But at the moment I'd rather knock Jack's head against the wall. Though I loved him like a brother, and I truly did, there were times he just drove me up the wall.

"Ye seem troubled." Jack noticed.

I chose not to respond.

"Ah, don't pull such a face, Bill. After all, ye should know that I'd never intend to give in to Randy Charly's sick advances, I'm not like that- otherwise I probably would've screwed ye the very first day we met."

"Charming, Jack. That's exactly what I always wanted to hear from ye before having to face the noose," I retorted sarcastically.

"Is it?" The way I glared at him silenced Jack for a moment, a bit puzzled about my heavy reaction. Then he sat down next to me on the narrow wooden bench covered with dirty straw. Damned, I hated him for radiating such warmth and confidence in such a horrible, dark and cold place. I had a serious problem with dungeons after my involuntary stay at the Tower of London, being locked away from the rest of the world for weeks, in solitude with my own thoughts and the question what the hell I had done wrong. At least they had had inevitable reasons to arrest me this time.

"Don't worry," he seemed to read my thoughts, or he just knew me very well, "Come morrow we'll watch the sun rise over a calm blue sea, and that's a promise."

I wanted to believe him if there hadn't been thick brick walls and irons bars between his promise and the reality. On the other hand, Jack wouldn't make a promise he couldn't keep- not in a situation like this, and not to me- so perhaps a little more trust was in order.

"What are ye up to?" I asked him.

"Well, since **I**'m hardly in the position to do anything at the moment ye have to wait and see."

Great, never heard a more reassuring answer. We sat together in the darkness of this prison and I tried not to become overly paranoid whereas Jack was totally relaxed- as if he had often been in situations like this and knew he'd always get away. Mayhap he believed that there simply was no prison, no cage that could ever keep a sparrow from flying free, I dunno.

A few hours passed. I guess it must have been about midnight when a voice came from the small, barred window right above us.

"Capt'n?"

It was Johnny's voice. I didn't know how he could make amends for what he had landed us into or how he should be able to get us out of here but he seemed to be exactly the one Jack had waited for.

"Aye, we're right here, lad. Did ye get everything ye need?"

As an answer the ends of a rope came dangling down from the window. While Jack knotted them securely around the irons bars I tried to imagine the willowy adolescent pulling hard on the other ends to spring us free but failed. It wouldn't work; he was way too weak. Even a stronger man than little Johnny Silvers would possibly not be able to move these bars.

There were more voices outside the window now, muffled voices, sounding excited… probably more lads of Johnny's age, most likely locals. I also heard something else but couldn't quite tell what it was. Then the ropes tightened, and what I had believed to be not possible came actually true. The irons bars were pulled out of the wall and with them a good part of the wall itself broke off. I stared in disbelief at the hole, seeing two big, grey asses- the backsides of elephants.

"I told ye not to worry, didn't I?" Jack said in a very smart ass way, grinning at me like a madman. If he had arranged this in the short time between escaping Beaufort's advances and getting arrested by the Portuguese it was unfathomable to me just how he had done so since I still couldn't comprehend how Johnny had gotten away unnoticed.

We quickly climbed through the hole in the wall and onto the back of one of the elephants, which took us straight to the harbour, while the local boys had a lot of fun annoying the Portuguese soldiers on watch with the help of the second elephant. Well, after all this appeared to be one of Jack's typical escape plans- totally unpredictable and chaotic.

We left Macao with the intention of never returning, and in the morning we were already far out on the sea, watching the sun rise just like Jack had promised. I made a point to remember and believe in his promises.

Then we headed straight to Singapore, desperately in need for some honest bit of debauchery, just like the usual stuff all sailors longed for when on shore leave. In Singapore we'd get everything we wanted- but sometimes it happens that you get more than you expected, something you hadn't even looked for…


	11. 10 the Clumsy Goddess

chapter 10- the Clumsy Goddess

Jack rolled his eyes when we entered our favourite tavern and the first one he spotted was Xing-Ill Chen.

"Wonder how he managed to stay alive without me support him," he whispered to me.

I elbowed him. As far as I've heard Chen wasn't only a capable pirate but also quite popular among the Chinese living in Singapore and elsewhere since he merely raided European ships. A pirate with a sense of patriotism but nevertheless no privateer. They called him 'the Silver Dragon of the Eastern Seas'- typical form of Chinese exaggeration but they tended to give their heroes a touch of mystical superiority. Anyway, the unfortunate encounter with the frigate _Bombay Sapphire_ was the first time he'd ever gotten in serious trouble, so I thought it might be wiser for Jack to simply shut up. I liked Singapore and would miss this place if we couldn't come here anymore because he'd pissed off Chen's admirers in his careless way. And, whether I liked Singapore or not, it was always better to have a safe hiding place in these waters, a haven where Randy Charly would not dare to follow Jack.

Fortunately he chose to ignore Chen, not looking for trouble for as change, as he sat down in the opposite part of the tavern. I was glad. All I wanted was to get a drink and have a relaxed evening, maybe also to find a pleasant company for the night.

I didn't like women dropping things to get your attention- it seemed like really bad manners from those who failed to get attention otherwise. Nevertheless I stopped to pick up a fan that a lady dressed in Chinese garb had _lost_. Well, apparently she had really lost it accidentally and not intentionally because I bumped heads with her when she bent to pick it up herself.

"Oops, sorry. I'm so sorry." She mumbled absent-mindedly and dropped it again as the result of our painful encounter. Since she was obviously not playing some manipulative game I pretended to be the gentleman that I definitely wasn't and beat her in finally picking up the fan from the floor. This time we only bumped heads slightly but then I was rewarded with the sweetest smile I ever saw.

"Oh, thank you so much, Sir. You're too kind. Sorry for being so utterly clumsy- I just can't help it."

I stared into an absolutely perfectly shaped face, the face of a Chinese goddess, and couldn't help being instantly smitten. I wouldn't say it was love at first sight since I didn't believe in such a romantic crap but I definitely wanted to get to know her better. Unfortunately, Chen spoiled my plan as he resolutely pushed himself between the beauty and me.

"Is he molesting you, Tao?" He glared daggers at me as if I had just made an attempt to contest him to his favourite concubine, which surely hadn't been my intention.

"No!" The goddess by the name of Tao slapped her fan across Chen's arm and tsked, "Don't be such an overly protective idiot, dear brother. This gentleman merely helped me picking up my fan; he's nice."

"Gentleman?" Chen snapped, and informed her that I was a pirate while my head suddenly felt very light and easy, knowing that she was his sister. I was not contesting him for his wife or concubine… she was merely his sister. A swarm of butterflies spread their wings in my stomach but I refused to let them fly. After all, it wouldn't be much easier to bed Xing-Ill Chen's sister given his protective attitude towards her.

"So what? You are a pirate too," she remembered him.

"You deserve better than a pirate…"

"Hah!" Tao snorted contemptuously before she proved that she wasn't only extremely pretty but also quite a spitfire. What followed was a rapid exchange of words held in some Chinese dialect, much too fast for me to understand. I picked up a few words but not enough to make any sense, and besides, neither brother nor sister paid any heed to me anyway. They seemed to have completely forgotten about me. I felt kind of superfluous and was about to take my leave, when suddenly her voice stopped me, making me turn around.

"Nice man, what's your name?"

"Bootstrap…" I stammered, so dazzled by her smile that I couldn't even tell her my real name.

"Bootstrap! Now that's a funny name! Where does that come from?"

I leaned a bit closer to her and actually told her how I thought I had gotten my nickname, all under the Argus eyes of her overly protective brother. She chuckled amused. Damned, she was so cute. And she smelled so good. I wanted to… no, I did **not** want to annoy Chen, at least not deliberately. But then she whispered to me, "I want to see you again, Bootstrap," and I knew that sooner or later I would have to annoy her brother.

"I can tell by the stupid grin on yer face that ye are mightily infatuated." Jack informed me when I returned to our table and gulped down a glass of rice brandy. I shuddered- sometimes it was just damned hard to get a decent drink in Asia. Probably the damned Company had once more intercepted some private traders. With a sigh I looked at my friend.

"Pretty lass. Chen's li'le sister, huh?

I nodded. Was it really so obvious that I fancied her? "She's cute."

"She's a courtesan."

"What?" I almost choked on my drink.

"A courtesan- that's another word for whore only that she has been properly trained to please men. Sounds promising but also a tad expensive, given that courtesans are to please the bloody upper class…"

"She's not!" I cut him off, angrily, though I wasn't quite sure whether my protest was meant to convince Jack or me. I simply refused to believe that such a stunning beauty could be a whore- or a courtesan, in this case. My mood changed from somewhere high up in the clouds to the depths of the bilge. How did he know anyway? He had just been sitting here, drinking whatever spirit, but he already seemed to know more about her than I. I shot him a stern glance. "'Right, mate, spill it. What have ye found out?"

Jack flashed me his trademark smile and leaned conspiratorially closer. "Well, their family's of old Chinese peerage but unfortunately impoverished due to their grandfather's fancy for betting. Daddy Xing-Ill took up piracy to settle their debts and was actually quite successful, but that didn't sit too well with the Portuguese rulers of their hometown, the charming port of Macao. When he got killed, Chen decided to create his own legend, leaving his lovely sister in the care of their uncle, who saw great profit in her beauty. The old weasel hired a famous teacher to train her in the art of seduction, hoping she might even gain the emperor's attention..."

I knew that the status of a courtesan was considered an honorable one in some high circles of the Asian society, nevertheless I hated the idea that my cute, witty and slightly clumsy goddess could be one since I wanted her all for me own. With some effort I tried to focus my attention on Jack' words again while at the same time I scanned the tavern for a glimpse of Tao.

"…he couldn't wait for the annual selection of imperial concubines though since he had already spent more money in her _education_ than he could afford and finally wanted to get something in return, preferably shiny, so he arranged an auction for her virginity."

"Damned, that's sick," I gasped, "so utterly sick. Almost worse than the slave trade."

Jack nudged my shoulder in silent agreement. "Aye- but the best's yet to come. Hear me out, mate… Apparently some stinking rich and very important merchant paid a fortune for her but was found dead the next morning, his throat slit. There are also rumors about some private parts missing… as well as the uncle's jingling purse with all the fortune he'd gotten for dear Tao. No one had seen her since 'til she showed up here a couple o' days ago, searching for her brother. What say ye now? D'ye still want her?"

As if that was up to me to decide. I didn't doubt that Tao was interested in me- though I didn't know why- but Chen would definitely try his best to keep me away from her. Remembering the heated argument they've just had, and recollecting the tidbits I had picked up, I suddenly understood his protectiveness. He hadn't had a clue about his uncle's true intention regarding his sister and sincerely regretted what had happened to her. He wouldn't let anyone mess with her again; there simply was no chance for me.

Jack seemed to read my thoughts. "He's watching over her like a mother hen… gotta change that."

He got up and walked over to Chen with me following in his wake, wondering what he was up to now. Jack greeted him like an old buddy, dropped the one or other insult to agitate him, before he changed the topic to discuss different ship types and riggings. I had no idea what was going on but I managed to exchange a few longing glances with Tao that made my heart beat faster.

Loud voices dragged my attention back to Jack and Chen who were now surrounded by pirates of both of their crews. The noise level increased even more as bets were placed. I shot a quizzical glance at Jack.

"The bloody slant-eye's of the opinion I can't sail a junk. D'ye know what a junk is, Bill? Well, a junk's simply… junk."

"Ignorant bastard!" Chen roared. "Generations of my ancestors have already sailed the world in junks long before you European longnoses have ever left the secure shores of your poor little countries." Chen retorted proudly.

"Ye just admitted yer li'le boats are kinda old-fashioned."

"Bah- their seaworthiness has been proven throughout centuries. It just needs a real man to sail them. Are you man enough, birdie? Or do you want to withdraw your bet?"

"Nah, I know I can beat ye." Jack said cocksure.

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed his sleeve, dragging him along with me out of hearing distance. Finally I had figured out what he had in mind.

"Ye're mad. Have ye ever sailed a junk before?"

"No, why?" He asked innocently.

"'Cause…" Oh no, it wouldn't make sense to remind him that a junk was not like the ordinary square rigged vessels, it had large sails that were battened with bamboo rods that seemed to be hard to handle. Nevertheless he had set his thick head on beating Chen in a race around Singapore. I wouldn't stop him. "…ah, forget 'bout it. D'ye mind if I put my money on Chen?"

He grinned slyly now. "Of course not though I might have expected a little more trust."

I eyed him skeptically. "So you can sail a junk?"

"Dear Bill, ye don't make any sense. Don't waste yer money with any stupid bets."

"Men," Tao sneered when we reached the docks and watched the two pirate captains board two small, one masted junks, "always having to compare the size of their balls in stupid competitions, behaving like vain peacocks thinking they're brave tigers when in fact they're nothing but apes, stupid monkeys."

I laughed agreeing, admiring her sharp tongue. She was so right and I only hoped she wasn't including me as well. I watched Jack and Chen set their sails and saw them leaving the harbour. As soon as they were out of sight I noticed that the crowd gathered at the docks was vanishing in all different directions until only Tao and I were left. Now, that was the chance I had waited for all night. Did I owe Jack my thanks for it? I smiled at her, saying, "Well, as it seems not all monkeys are as daft as they appear to be at first glance. Actually I believe they can be quite clever beasts sometimes."

"Oh, I didn't mean you, Bootstrap. I…" Tao suddenly fell silent, noticing that her overly protective brother wasn't here to watch her every step. Smiling she slipped her hand into mine. "Would you like to drink a cup of tea with me?"

Oh, absolutely. Did I ever mention that I loved tea?

I followed her to a wooden house that was furnished in typical Asian style with a futon mattress on the floor and some cushions around a low table. Tao begged me to take off my boots and sit down while she buzzed around the kitchen area to boil us some tea. What a lucky man I was! I was alone with the most beautiful girl I ever met and her overly protective brother was distracted. A clattering sound reminded me that the beauty was clumsy one but I didn't really care whether she was shattering all the cups for drinking tea was definitely not my main interest.

Tao came back to me carrying a tray with two cups and a teapot. She put the tray on the table and, with elegant grace, poured some tea. It was only when she handed me a cup that something went wrong and she spilled the hot tea over my shirt. I just laughed. Infatuated as I was I found her clumsiness very charming

"Oops, I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry, dear Bootstrap." She muttered, her head lowered in shame, as she tried to dab off the tea from my shirt.

"Don't worry. Just let it dry. My, and I thought first ye might have dropped yer fan deliberately."

Tao looked at me with a frown. "Why should I have done that?"

I told her about the habit of fine European noblewomen to _drop_ their handkerchiefs or something like that to get the attention of a gentlemen, which made Tao frown even more.

"The women where you come from are strange. I would be glad if I wouldn't constantly drop things but sometimes they just seem to fall down when I merely look at them. I feel so ashamed for being so clumsy… Now take off your shirt, I will wash it for you."

What pirate cared for a clean shirt? Her delicate little fingers fumbling with the buttons of my shirt, occasionally touching my skin ever so slightly, was too much for me. I grabbed her and kissed her. She let out a surprised 'Oh', but seemed to like it because soon she forgot about washing my shirt and dedicated her attention to my body instead.

I already knew that Asian girls weren't overly shy when it came to the male anatomy, but Tao… well, she definitely was trained in the art of seduction. Of course, she had been expected to become a prized courtesan. Suddenly I wondered if I was just another patron for her, and I didn't like this thought because I wanted to be more to her. I also remembered what had happened to the man who had bought her virginity and found dead the next morning. I didn't want to end with a slit throat either. Those weren't very arousing thoughts and most probably not the ones a pirate would care about, but then again I knew I was a lousy pirate sometimes. So I caught her hands in mine, stopping her from whatever wonderful things she was doing to me.

"Don't you like what I'm doing, Bootstrap?" She asked worriedly as she gazed at me. I was almost melting away by that look of her amazing, perfectly shaped almond eyes.

"Oh, I do," I admitted honestly since she really was damned good in her job. But still, it might be just a job for her while I longed for real affection. I flashed her an encouraging smile that was rather meant to encourage me since I didn't know how to tell her. "Nothing's wrong with that, it's just…"

"Ah, so you've heard about my reputation." With a sigh she sat up, a sad expression on her face that made me want to hug her. "I'm not a whore, Bootstrap."

"Never said that."

"But you were thinking it… and I can understand that. After all, it's true, for the last couple of years I have been trained to become a courtesan. It wasn't my choice. I was expected to obey to an elder relative whom I owed for raising me after my parents were killed. Also, I had been fed with promises of a wonderful new life lying ahead of me, the chance to see the His Majesty the Emperor himself. That was a great chance for an orphan girl from a bankrupt but noble family. It took me a while to figure out I had been fed with lies, that this life was not what I wanted. I thought I had a say in who I would lay with… and then my uncle just sold me to the highest bidder, a man who didn't know about the skills of love making…"

"So ye killed him?"

"Aye," Tao confessed matter-of-factly. "I castrated him, stuffed his balls down his throat and slit his throat."

So it was true; this beautiful lass who looked like a goddess to me was not only clumsy but could be a cold-blooded killer if necessary, and even admitted it. Although I certainly understood her reasons I nevertheless moved instinctively a bit further away from her .

"Did I shock you? I'm sorry- I didn't meant to put you off, Bootstrap. You know, ever since we met I sensed you are a good man, and I really like you. In fact I wouldn't be here with you now if that wasn't what I wanted… but apparently my reputation has spoiled me for any good man…"

She looked so sad when she said that, her head held low, nibbling at her lips. I couldn't withstand the urge to hug her any longer. I gathered her in my arms and mumbled some unintelligible nonsense into her ear, stuff like _'don't worry, luv, I like ye too, I really care for ye, let's not rush things, we can take our time, get to know each other better…'_ and so on. I could imagine Jack laughing about me if he were here, saying something like, _'Bill, why d'ye always have to fall in love when ye want to screw a girl?' _ I didn't know either, it just happened. Even Tao laughed about me although in the nicest possible way. Damned, she was so unbelievable cute.

"You really are a good man, Bootstrap."

I didn't know how often I told her to call me Bill. Most of the time she simply ignored it because she liked Bootstrap better, claiming it was such a funny name. I considered this as a doubtful compliment for I didn't want to be a joke to her.

We talked, we kissed, we laughed. We made love. It had never been my intention to push her but tell that a lass who was trained in the art of seduction, not shy at all and above that so curious to test her learned skills on me. She took command, and fortunately she seemed to be satisfied with me for she didn't try to castrate me or slit my throat afterwards. I guess that was a good sign, perhaps the beginning of a great love affair. We were happy to be together, lying in each others arms, both of us pretty infatuated. We completely forgot time and that somebody could not be so happy about us being together.

Chen fumed when he found out for he stormed the house without a warning. In fact he had already suspected us of not behaving according to his liking- or, to be more precisely, he had suspected **me** to misuse his absence and try to seduce his little sister. There was no point in arguing, like stressing that it had been the other way round or that we both had wanted it, when you are stark naked and a madman whirled his sword, threatening to castrate you if you ever lay eyes on his precious sister again. Instinctively I covered my private parts with my bare hands and scanned the room for a weapon. I knew I was looking absolutely ridiculous in my poor effort to protect me. The whole situation was absurd, like waking from a pleasant dream to find yourself stranded in the middle of insanity. Tao was cursing her brother in Chinese, Chen barked at me, and if that wasn't enough Jack walked in, grinning smugly.

Though I was glad to see him, he did nothing to improve the situation. If possible he merely added some more fuel by asking if I had a good time.

"You! Sparrow! You arranged all this! You **_tricked_** me into that stupid race!"

"Pretty much," Jack admitted casually.

Chen launched himself at my friend, roaring, "I'll gut you! I'll tear out yer intestines and use them as lines for the rigging of my new ship if you ever dare to help this bastard you call your friend to dishonour my sister again!"

Jack just stepped aside. "So ye admit that I would have beaten ye in this little race of ours if I hadn't meant to help me mate spending some time with yer lovely sister?"

Great, why not provoke him a little more? At least that gave me time to put on my pants so I'd feel less vulnerable.

"Stop this ridiculous behaviour, all of you! I'm not a puppet you can push around as you like," Tao protested but no one really listened to her. They should have because it was the most sensible thing I had heard since this mayhem started.

Jack danced through the room with fluttering hands, escaping the enraged Chen who had momentarily forgotten about me, and I thought that no one would miss me if I'd take a leave now. The room was crowded enough with the self-important egos of two pirate captains. Of course I stayed since couldn't leave Tao behind. She, however, was so fed up with her brother not listening to her that she had decided to take more drastic measures to make him listen, so she cut off her hip long braid and started lashing Chen with it to get his attention. That worked. He stared at her flabbergasted. We all did.

Jack arched an admiring brow at her. "She's quite a spitfire, eh?"

I merely elbowed him and smiled, lost in thoughts for a moment. _Aye, that she was_.

"You cut off your beautiful hair," Chen gasped.

"I have enough of being beautiful- I want to be taken seriously! I have enough of stupid, cock-heavy men who think they know it all. You are even worse than Uncle Ming! At least he made unmistakably clear that he saw profit in my beauty whereas you feign affection without caring about me at all."

"But I do, little sister. You know I love you and only want the best for you."

"You never asked me what I want! I did **not** want to be left with Uncle Ming while you were free to sail the seas, I did **not** want to become a prized courtesan, I did **not** want to give my virginity to the highest bidder, and most certainly I did **not** run away from all that so that you can rule my life now."

Jack gestured to me to use their dispute to slip away but I shook my head; I wanted to stay and see how it would end. I didn't doubt that Tao would get her way.

"I don't want to rule your life," Chen interjected with a soft voice, "I merely want to protect you."

"You behave like an overly protective mother hen!"

"Because Singapore is a dangerous place with all these bloody foreigners coming here recently. They will hear about your reputation and treat you like a common whore, just like this damned scallywag of a pirate."

He pointed at me and I couldn't keep my mouth shut. "Blast, I don't treat yer sister like a whore. I'm in love with her."

Jack rolled his eyes and Chen glared daggers at me before he addressed Tao again. "Don't listen to him. I know this sort of fellow. They're eager to talk about love and promise you whatever you want to hear but with no intention to keep it because all they are interested in is a good lay."

"Ye seem to have experience with that, don't ye, mate?" Jack said smirking, indicating that Chen was just like that too.

"That's not the same," the Chinese pirate growled, "she is a woman…"

"Well, that's obvious."

"Ha, and as a woman I have no right to decide with whom I want to lay?" Tao snapped indignantly. "Is my brother to tell me that now instead of my uncle? Or do you want me to become a nun?"

"I want you to find a decent man to marry…"

"But that's not what I want! I came here and asked you for a ship- a reasonable request you have chosen to ignore so far."

"A pirate's life is not what I had in mind for you; it's too dangerous for a woman." Chen folded his arms across his chest to make clear that that was his last word on this matter.

Tao shrugged. Then she flashed her sweetest smile at Jack, fluttering her lashes- I felt a sudden pang of unreasonably jealous for I knew that he would not take advantage of the situation… um, at least I hoped so- and chirped charmingly, "Captain Jack…"

"Alright," Chen gave in at once. Apparently the idea of her trying to sign in with Captain Jack Sparrow just to have her way was even more intolerable than the idea of her becoming a pirate at all. "You'll get your ship. But you will sail under my command and keep out of any fight…"

"Agreed," she offered quickly.

"…and you'll stay away from these pirates."

"No way!" You could see that they were related by the way she perfectly copied her brother's pose, stubborn and defiant just like him. "I'm in love with Bootstrap, I want him."

I felt flattered; you don't hear that every day. Jack grinned, and Chen wasn't very pleased.

"Tao, you're foolish. He's not only a pirate but also a foreigner who does neither know nor respect our traditions. I also doubt that he'd have the decency to marry you."

Actually, I thought it was perhaps a tad too early to talk about marriage, and besides, I was already married. Of course, I knew that having more than one woman was no problem in most Asian countries… lucky bastards they were. Unfortunately I had married Claire in a church, and the Church of England was strictly insisting on monogamy. And although I wasn't religious I liked to keep the promises I made.

Chen took my silence as evidence that I was not the appropriate man for his sister. "Don't worry, you'll find a better man…"

"There's no better man," Jack threw in. It was nice to hear that he thought so highly of me but I swore I'd throttle him if he came up with the gift from the mermaids nonsense now. Fortunately he didn't. That didn't mean I was pleased to hear the next thing he said. "The question is- is yer sister worthy of him- if that would be the question but I'm inconsolably sorry, he's not on the market." He grabbed my arm and dragged me along, heading to the door. "There will be no marrying here."

What was that now? Jack seemed so determined to get me out of this house that I didn't even had time to snatch for my shirt. I cast a longing glance at Tao, who still looked damned beautiful to me despite of the mess she had made of her hair, and promised silently to come back- well, I had to get back my shirt, didn't I?

While we were returning to the docks and the dark silhouette of the Pearl I wondered what was wrong with Jack. He was unusually quiet and our abrupt departure had been more than strange. I tried to cheer him up by asking for the result of his race with Chen.

Jack stopped in his tracks and glanced at me as if I'd gone totally nuts. Then he shook his head and walked on, mumbling dourly, "It had never been about winning or losing."

So I had guessed right. "Ye merely wanted to distract him so that I could spend some time with Tao?"

"Sort of."

He didn't sound enthusiastic about it at all, more like he already regretted it, and I didn't know why.

"Ye're a diamond, mate. I believe thanks are in order."

"Mhmpf."

I wanted to express my gratitude by hugging him dearly but Jack just turned away from me. Meanwhile, we had reached the Pearl and walked up the gangway.

"It's about time ye remember yer duties again," he informed me with the tone of a busy pirate captain giving orders to his first mate. "It's yer watch now, please try to concentrate on it. Ta."

Then he entered his cabin and slammed the door in my face, leaving me standing on the main deck with a big question mark on my face. What the hell had gotten into him?

I spent the night on deck, pacing from bow to stern and back, occasionally pausing to check a line or overlook the docks. Like Tortuga, Singapore never slept. Even when the night markets were long closed the streets were still teeming with people visiting the local taverns, bath houses and brothels. I watched them without paying much heed to what was going on since my mind was too consumed with other things. Of course I wondered about Jack's strange behaviour- but on the other hand he was Captain Jack Sparrow and strange behaviour was sort of his trademark rather than something unusual. Mayhap he was just slightly pissed off from having lost his race against Chen since even though it hadn't been about winning or losing he nevertheless preferred to be the winner. I shrugged it off, believing that he'd be his old, good-tempered self again in the morning. So instead of worrying about him I started dreaming of Tao and the wonderful time we had spent.

It wasn't only her beauty that had caused me to fall for her, nor her skills in making love- although both attributes were definitely extraordinary. Never before had I met a woman who was so cute, witty, clumsy and headstrong all at the same time. I really had a serious crush on her; she had gotten under my skin like no other woman before, and I definitely wanted to see her again. Well, if she hadn't lied about being in love with me too- unlikely, since she had thrown it into her brother's face that she wanted me, and she wouldn't quarrel with him for nothing- I would see her again soon. I was looking forward to it, couldn't think of anything else, and yet I was surprised when I suddenly heard her calling my name.

"Bootstrap?"

"Aye!" I glanced down the gangway and was rendered breathless for she looked absolutely stunning in the early morning light. Apparently she had solved the mess she had made of her hair by cutting it even shorter so that it was now sticking up from her head in all directions. It looked unusual but I liked it.

"Permission to come aboard?" She asked with such a sweet smile that I could hardly answer, still staring at her wordlessly. Finally I managed to give her at least an inviting nod.

Tao took off her shoes before she walked up the gangway, carrying a basket in her arms. "I washed your shirt- it's not dry yet but since I was looking for a reason to see you I thought I'd bring you breakfast instead. You don't mind me bringing you breakfast, do you?"

She sounded a bit nervous though there was no reason for it. I loved her, I loved breakfast, and most of all I'd love to have her for breakfast.

When she reached the deck she miraculously managed to stumble on even planks, or perhaps she just stumbled over her own feet. I hastened to catch her from falling and she landed straight in my arms.

"Oops," she breathed as she dropped her basket; a pineapple and some rambutans rolled over the deck. I didn't give a damn but kissed her passionately.

"Oh… and I almost feared you might not like me anymore because I cut off my hair."

"Why's that? It's cute- and besides, it doesn't change ye, eh?" I ruffled her hair and kissed her again when suddenly a worrisome thought crossed my mind. "What will yer brother say…"

"About my hair?"

"No," shaking my head I laughed although the idea of an infuriated Chen making a scene aboard the Pearl wasn't funny at all, "about us. That ye're here with me now."

"Ah, my dear brother is a bit impulsive sometimes but after careful consideration he came to terms with the fact that it is only up to me to decide with whom I want to make love since I don't interfere in his sexual life either- after all, he has three steady concubines whereas I merely want to make love to you, many, many times." She was definitely straightforward and didn't even try to mince her words. "He also agreed that whatever appropriable husband he wanted to find for me he would nevertheless not be able to guarantee that his love lance will cause me as much pleasure as yours does, and at this point he finally shut up due to a lack of plausible arguments."

Understandable. I blushed, not knowing whether to feel flattered or embarrassed, but well- at least she had made it unmistakably clear that she wanted me and who was I to reject a wantonly goddess? I thought it was about time to show her my cabin and postpone breakfast to a later moment.

"Are you alright, dear Bootstrap?" Tao asked with her sweetest smile, looking so innocently as if she had absolutely no idea of the effects her previous words could have on a man.

"Aye." I was a lucky man- unfortunately that didn't go for Jack who left his cabin this very moment, first in a splendid mood but frowning when he spotted Tao and me together, and if that wasn't enough to ruin his day he then slipped on a rambutan that had somehow found its way from Tao's basket to his feet. He wagged his arms wildly in an attempt to regain balance but failed and landed flat on his back, cursing violently. It didn't improve his mood that Tao hurried to help him up, eagerly brushing off invisible dust particles from his shirt, apologizing a thousand times for having been so clumsy to cause him trouble.

"**You** are trouble, missy!" Impatiently he shooed her away before he shot me an indignant glance since I had dared to snicker.

I didn't know what his problem was, and- to be honest- I didn't give a damn. His bad mood was getting on my nerves so I avoided him. I thought it was unfair of him to grudge me my happiness. A good friend should be glad that I was so happily in love and not behave like a stubborn, selfish idiot because for once he was **not** the centre of attention. But well, when you're in love you seem to lose the ability to think clearly, and you tend to forget the rest of the world. All that mattered to me was to spend as much time with Tao as possible, to kiss and talk, and to devour her. I simply did not care about Jack until he was gone and then I was absolutely taken aback, unable to believe that he could have left me. But it was true. One morning I went to the docks and there was no black ship lying at anchor anymore. First I cursed him, then I shrugged it off. At least now I didn't have to deal with his foul mood any longer. I returned to the house Tao and I were living in, and for a short while I actually believed we could go on like this forever, living together in perfect harmony without anyone disturbing or spoiling it. I was so wrong. It merely took two days and I caught myself restlessly searching the horizon; I lay awake at night, unable to find peace in Tao's arms. Of course she noticed and encouraged me to talk about what's troubling me. I just turned away to stare holes into the darkness, feeling miserable.

Fact was, I missed Jack. I missed our nightlong conversations or going swimming in the morning but I had completely ignored my friend since Tao had stepped into my life. He had given us the opportunity to spend some time together and I had thanked him with disregard, thoughtlessly letting him down. He wasn't the one who was selfish, I was. Obsessed with Tao I had locked him out of my life as if my heart wasn't big enough for both of them, and now I didn't even know if he'd ever come back. Great, I had thoroughly messed it up.

But I had forgotten one very important thing- he was Captain Jack Sparrow, and therefore totally unpredictable.

One night, about a week after he'd left, he suddenly stood in front of my bed, woke me with a slap, and told me he needed me. Apparently he had seized a Dutch warship- goddamned, how daft was that?- and now he intended to take the cannons to Ayutthaya because King Narai's ten thousand war elephants…

I didn't listen any longer. He could not walk in and out of my life any time he wanted, and though I was glad to see him I was angry at the same time. Most of all about his careless stupidity to commandeer a man-o-war. The moment I jumped out of bed my fist connected with his jaw. "Ouch!" He yelped when my blow sent him to the floor but it didn't shut him up. "What was that for? If I remember correctly it was you who once pointed out that all the pretty, royal war elephants won't be of any help should Siam ever get attacked by sea…"

I grabbed him at the collar and jerked him to his feet again to give him a good shaking. There were a thousand reasons why he deserved a bashing but I named only one. "I never told ye to pick a fight with a naval warship, ye goddamned idiot!"

"Ah, that," he actually had the nerve to smile at me, knowing I still cared for him. "Don't fret, mate. 'Twas only a small ship, really tiny, more like a boat and the last of the convoy."

I growled. The idea of him risking his life just for the sake of thirst for adventures paired with general carelessness was driving me nuts and I wanted to beat his foolishness out of him. Usually, Jack avoided fights. He wasn't very good at it, and besides, he preferred to talk his way out of uncomfortable situations anyway. But today he hit back and kicked my shin.

Oh, we really had a strange way of showing how much we really cared for each other. Instead of talking things over, saying things like _I'm sorry, I missed ye_, we let our fists do the talking. Rolling over the floor, eager to hurt each other, we gave vent to all the anger and frustration that had bottled up between us recently.

"Stop that!" I heard Tao yell as she poured a bucketful of water over us to cool us down. Breathlessly we lay in the puddle, sobered up and soaking wet, staring at her in mild confusion. I guess we looked like idiots. Tsking she placed her hands on her hips. "You are behaving like two mangy street dogs! Why don't you sort things out like civilized people? Oh- don't tell me now because you are pirates since that's no reason; I've heard this nonsense before. I want you to shake hands and forget this madness. Bootstrap, darling, why don't you tell your friend that you missed him and what an ass of a friend you have been?"

I was at a momentarily loss but fortunately Jack made the first step; he offered me his hand and I took it to pull him into a crushing embrace, so glad to have him back. I felt ashamed and sorry for having neglected him.

"Smart lass." Jack nodded approvingly at Tao before he turned his attention to me again. "Alright, let's go!"

"Go where?"

"Ayutthaya." He rolled his eyes as if he was saying _ye never listen to me_. "I told ye."

"Well, I remember ye babbling 'bout elephants…"

"And cannons. Don't forget the cannons."

"Ta," I sighed, there had really been no reason to remind me of his folly of seizing a Dutch warship since that was still bugging me. Damned idiot. And now he apparently expected me to jump at his command because he needed me to help him sell the bloody cannons to the Siamese. I wondered if it was only the profit he had in mind or if he we was just looking for an opportunity to drag me away from Tao. On the other hand, Siam was a rich country. Both rivalling East India Companies- the British and the Dutch- were mightily interested in a trade monopoly there, in conquering the country, and knowing their politics they'd stop at nothing. Their hunger for new colonies was as big as their desire to fill their pockets, almost insatiable. First they'd come as friends and next they sat on the throne; it had happened in many places as history proved. Fortunately, King Narai was a shrewd man and a canny politician for he had successfully managed to protect Siam's independency despite of all the threats his country had been confronted with throughout the years, but times were getting rougher. His precious war elephants might have been a powerful weapon when fighting off the Burmese but they were quite ineffective against ambitious warships- they'd end up as cannon fodder before they even had the slightest chance to raise their trunks. Therefore neither the Brits nor the Dutch were interested in Siam having cannons, for that would merely spoil their usurping plans. No one would sell Siam any cannons- except us, and that was where the fun started. I absolutely loved the idea of pissing off these mighty companies. Naughty thoughts, the thoughts of a pirate...sometimes even I myself was astounded by the way I had changed from the man I used to be to the man I was now although I hadn't really changed that much; I merely saw things from a different angle. Perhaps that was Jack's doing. He had a knack to bring out the best in people.

"However, you are not going anywhere before you had breakfast," Tao insisted, interrupting my thoughts. She kissed me briefly before she left for the kitchen area.

"Ain't she wonderful?" I breathed, addressing no one in particular. She was such a caring woman, beautiful and headstrong…

Jack gave me a frown when he heard clattering noises and he arched a quizzical brow.

…alright, she was also a tad clumsy sometimes but that was no reason to look as if she was going to poison him. She was a wonderful cook if she didn't set the kitchen on fire or spill things all over the floor.

"How do you like your eggs, Captain Jack?" Tao called cheerfully, then she oopsed when something slipped her hands and landed crashing on the floor.

Jack rolled his eyes heavenwards. "On a plate, luv- if ye still have one left that is."


End file.
